


Fading

by SandfireKat



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Depression, Drama, Enemies to Friends, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Recovery, Torture, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2019-10-21 07:04:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 36,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17638070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandfireKat/pseuds/SandfireKat
Summary: Sora is captured by the Organization, and forced to complete Kingdom Hearts faster by being bombarded with Heartless. All alone, and with the consequence of his friends' deaths should he not comply, he has no choice but to help the very people he is fighting against. With no way out, and will broken, there doesn't seem to be a way out, even to him. Sora, ever the optimist, is hopeless. However, an ally may be closer than he thinks. There might still be a chance. A solution.But the situation isn't that simple. Even if he does get out...that might not even be the end of it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fairly old story. But with the new game coming out, all of my love for this game and these characters came back. I'd started writing a sequel to this story and ending up abandoning it, but now I'm picking it all back up again. <3  
> So I'm coming to post this story on Ao3, it's only been on ff.net until now. However, I'm going back through and editing it and adding a few things as I do. Fixing things that don't sit quite right with me. This has got to be one of my most favorite fanfics of all time-- so much so, this is actually the SECOND time I'm editing it and kinda re-doing it. Hopefully it won't take long. That way, when I continue writing the sequel, the quality levels will not be as jarringly different, and it'll be much smoother. Less typos, things like that.  
> So yes! I'd still love to hear your thoughts, for those of you who haven't read this before! I hold this story close to my heart. So thank you for reading! I hope you like it! Tags are subject to change/be added to.
> 
> This story takes place smack-dab in the second game.

It was chaos. Pandemonium and disorder was alive in the gully as the once-peaceful ravine was filled with the sounds of clashing swords, heightened yells, and battle cries that rose to combine into one long drone. The Heartless below the cliffs resembled a shuffling wave of black, that, albeit clumsy, were making steady progress forward. The vile things were not on the Organization's side, yet their presence could be used as the perfect distraction. What came across at first as a series of bubbles in a sea of plans, could be now adjusted to work in their favor. If the plan went accordingly, that is.

It was a delicate process; one small misstep and the whole thing could go underway. They had to do it quickly, without commotion, and they had to cover their tracks afterward. There would have to be absolutely no witnesses— if there were any, they would have to be promptly removed. The thought caused a small smile to worm its way over the man's face, the grin containing nothing but malice and a sort of sick humor. Yes; the plan was perfect. And he fully intended to keep it that way.

Footsteps behind made the man's expression vanish instantly, in order to be replaced by a blank, apathetic face. He did not turn around to face the newcomer— he didn't need to in order to know who it was. He was silent. Sure enough, the person behind him spoke after a moment of clear hesitation. "Demyx failed." The two words were simple enough and yet with the implication that it brought, Xaldin's voice was dark and grim. The man observing the Heartless below scowled immediately, a flash of anger coloring his vision red as his hands curled into tight fists at his sides. Demyx had failed in his required mission. And that meant that the seemingly-flawless plan of action was now beginning to crumble and give way underneath itself. Being able to clearly see in his mind the boy responsible, his mouth curled back into a deep scowl, and only then did he turn to face Xaldin.

Yellow eyes narrowed into slits, he spoke his voice a low snarl. "Then we must go down and do it ourselves," he snapped, fury vibrating in every syllable of his voice. If you needed something done right, you had to do it yourself. Relying on Demyx for such a pivotal part of their mission was obviously turning out to be a badly-thought-out idea. He turned again, his eyes flying back down to the ravine, flickering and scanning through the tide of Heartless. "We will make sure there are no more failures; we have had far too many of those in the past. …With all of us together there will be no opportunity for the child to weasel out of our grasp." This last sentence came across as little more than a whisper, a thought-filled mumble that could barely be heard over the commotion rising up from down below.

Surprisingly, there still remained a sense of hesitation on Xaldin's part. "Xemnas, are you sure that's such a good idea?" he questioned. "The kid has killed  _half_ of our Organization already, and he just added Demyx to his list. What if he actually manages to—"

"Are you questioning your superior?" Xemnas whirled around and glowered at him. Xaldin resembled a fish out of water for a second or two, his jaw slack as he seemed to be struggling to answer properly. But Xemnas growled deep in his throat, and went on with a shake of the head. "The boy is a mere child, Xaldin," he went on to point out, his voice barbed and sharp. "He's been able to scrape by facing one of us at a time, but with all of us together he will have no chance but to admit defeat. Round up the others and tell them that it's time. We will not tolerate anything less than success today, do you understand?"

Xaldin paused, then nodded once. Yet he still did not move, and, growing impatient, Xemnas seethed: "What are you waiting for?" he demanded in a yell. "We've been waiting for this moment for far too long— your dawdling is going to cost us everything! I said  _go and get the others_!"

Xaldin jerked, but then ducked down in a small nod, backtracking as he mumbled something akin to an apology. Turning, he created a portal of shadow, stepping through and vanishing in less than a second. He left Xemnas alone. Turning and letting out a slow sigh, he shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, willing himself patience. Patience would be key; without it, the entire thing would not execute properly.

He looked back down to the gully, eyes dark now as he surveyed the scene below him. The mass of Heartless, the few sparse hearts that rose up into the air every so often, the broken-down castle that served as a centerpiece for the entire scene. "Now…where are you?" he murmured softly, eyes drilling through the black as he looked for a flash of brown, a swipe of gray. He came up with nothing, and he felt a small strike of disappointment. But he clasped his hands behind his back, shaking his head. "No matter," he said simply. "You cannot hide forever." And if things went accordingly, then he surely would not be running away any time soon, either. "Enjoy your time now, young keyblade bearer. We'll have you before the day is over."

It seemed like an impossible task beforehand…but after months of careful planning, Xemnas had realized that it could actually be possible. Possible, yet he also trusted that it would be a very difficult. Hopefully it would be easy to get the keyblade bearer isolated. But at the same time, even if it wasn't, they would still make it work. There was no option for failure. The situation became less than ideal, but still doable— the end result would just be a bit more blood on their hands than originally anticipated.

Over-thinking things made it all much more complicated than it was supposed to be. Shaking his head as if to clear it, Xemnas clenched his hands together, weapons appearing in his hands in a flash of red laser light. He started to turn and walk away from the cliff's edge. He looked up in the sky as he did, telling the time by the sun overhead. They still had time to be able to pull it off. They had much more time than they needed, actually.

And then he would have all the time in the world to deal with the keyblade bearer as seen fit.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

 _"Sora!"_  At the yell of his name, Sora stiffened, jabbing his keyblade forward and watching as the Heartless in front of him disappeared into a puff of black smoke. When the being vanished, the fifteen-year-old turned, shoulders heaving in his efforts to draw in enough air as his eyes followed the direction the cry had come from. Yuffie had been fighting by his side this entire time; her yell had been just as breathless as Sora felt, and sure enough, when his eyes went to her, she was panting just like he was. But her eyes were bright, and when she took out the Heartless closest to her, she hopped up and spun around towards him.

She casted a glance down the cliff. She was worried, and her voice was congested with it when she turned back to Sora. "I have to go find Aerith!" she yelled. The thought of her friend, who wasn't all that great at fighting in the first place, being all alone against this hoard had been eating at her for ages. Not that she didn't want to help Sora, but in terms of assistance, she was much less needed. Sora was an excellent fighter, unassisted. Leaving him wasn't on her list of  _priorities_ , but she figured he could handle himself better then Aerith probably was right about now. "She probably needs help!" she yelled. "Will you be good here by yourself?"

Sora ducked as another Heartless swiped at him, digging his heels into the ground and spinning right back into it, knocking it back five clear feet. In one fluid motion, he straightened and offered Yuffie a wide smile, raising his arm and giving her a dramatic salute as reply. She giggled, rolling her eyes at the fact that even now, her friend was taking the time to be goofy and make her laugh. He was always ridiculous, that way. Apparently even with a million Heartless storming them at once. She let her gaze linger on him briefly, as he turned and rushed back at another clump of enemies. She hesitated one last second. But then turned and rushed out over the ledge, hopping down to where she'd last seen her friend, to hopefully find her.

Once she hopped all the way down and hit the ground with a thud, she right herself, taking a moment to survey her surroundings and holding back a groan. They had barely made a  _dent_  in the mass— the Heartless sure didn't seem to be on the losing side of this battle. She knew she had to find Aerith; her worry was only mounting. She paused one last time, looking over her shoulder towards where she'd left her friend. She felt a pang in her chest, but told herself to forget it. She just kept still long enough to offer a tiny mumble of: "Good luck," knowing that the words wouldn't reach him, but maybe the sentiment might.

Yuffie drew her weapons closer to herself, weaving and stabbing through every Heartless that got in her way as she started into a sprint. Her breath puffed unevenly, and her legs were screaming at her to stop and rest. But she didn't dare; she just had to ignore it, and rely on pure adrenaline to keep going. They weren't  _nearly_ finished yet, and she refused to be the first to give up. The Heartless shouldn't be here; that much was certain. Granted that they shouldn't be  _anywhere_ at any  _time_ , but the fact that they were here now, in devastatingly-large amounts just pushed her over the edge. At least the anger helped her keep moving. But why couldn't Maleficent just  _realize_  that as long as Sora was the keyblade bearer, all of her efforts were absolutely useless?

After what seemed like ages, the ninja caught sight of her friend. Aerith was fighting by herself, putting as much effort into facing off with the things as she could. She was kicking out and fighting her hardest, but it wasn't enough; the enemies were making fast progress in surrounding her. A gasp choked Yuffie's throat as she realized her fears were founded, and she forced herself to run even faster, though she hadn't thought that was even possible. Aerith was no fighter— she was a healer. Yuffie was right: she needed much more help than Sora did, right now. Her other friend was slipping her mind completely.

"Aerith!" she shouted. Her friend stiffened, whirling around. "Aerith, I'm here!" She didn't see her reaction well. As soon as she yelled, Yuffie vaulted off of the ground with a giant leap, pushing into the air and throwing her stars down at the initial ring of Heartless. They disappeared in an organized rush. She caught them when they returned to her, and she staggered upon hitting the ground. She was exhausted. But she forced herself to recover, and ran the rest of the way to her friend, who was now looking at her with rounded-out eye. "Hey," she puffed, heaving for air and barely even managing to get out the word.

Aerith was worried. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"What; this?" she gasped, trying to roll out the stiffness in her arms and back. "Oh yeah. This is nothing— it's just some exercise." One of the nearby Soldiers leaped forward to try and dig its claws into her skin. She barely managed to block the attack; the effort was sloppy as she merely threw out one of her ninja stars. The enemy was thrown upon the impact; it was still alive, but it would have to do. Another was rushing for Aerith's throat. Hissing through her teeth, Yuffie leaned out on one leg and threw her star towards it as hard as she could, watching as her weapon cut through the enemy with deadly precision.  _This_ time, at least, it disappeared. She sagged when she caught the weapon again, shaking her head and sidling over more so that her shoulder was brushing her friend's. "Maybe it's a little too much exercise," she panted.

Aerith was daunted; her eyes were stretched huge. But they were also stretched out with a sort of guilt. "You can go back, Yuffie," she tried. Yuffie turned an incredulous gaze on her briefly before she turned to hammer through another line of Heartless. "I can handle it myself, I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything for my sake…I can do fine on my own."

She fought the urge to scoff aloud. She would leave as soon as she would leave Hollow Bastian altogether. "Aerith, that's not—" She didn't get the chance to finish. Before she could, there was a sudden blinding light, and a sudden wave of blistering heat. Fire rushed all around them, cutting through the Heartless that were encircling them, and coming about three inches from doing the same to the both of them. She was rooted in shock for only a couple seconds, before she was flinching away from the blaze. She felt Aerith grab hard onto her arm, and, without thinking, she was grabbing back to her just as hard.

The inferno lasted for about five seconds, if even that. Until, just as quick as it had come, it disappeared. It vanished, and once it did Yuffie straightened, whirling around to try and find the source. "What was that?" she demanded, wracking her brain to try and figure out where the heck an attack like that could come from. Anything within three yards had been burned away by the fire. Something as strong at that…was it against them— would they have to fight  _that_ , now? "Did you do that?" She looked at Aerith, bemused. "Did you do that?"

But Aerith was just as perplexed. "No," she rasped. "No; I didn't do anything."

"Sorry to show up to the party late." A voice came from behind the two, cold and dryly sarcastic. They spun around as soon as the voice reached their ears, Yuffie dropping down into a defensive crouch as she drew her weapon. Her jaw locked backwards and her eyes narrowed to slits as she found herself locking eyes with someone she had never seen before. He was very tall, bright red hair spiked back and odd-looking black marks underneath sharp green eyes. He wore that black coat that the Organization wore, and when Yuffie immediately scowled at the recognition, his lips only twitched up into a crooked smile. "But I can see that I'm still not very welcome in the first place."

Yuffie spared no room for banter. "Who are you?"

"No need to rush things," the newcomer laughed, folding his arms and raising his eyebrows. Everything about this person seemed to give off the vibe of relaxation, a trait that was wildly out of place in this kind of setting. "I thought it was always the girl who wanted to take things slow, am I right?" He seemed to be trying to make a joke. But Aerith just eyed him warily, and Yuffie's scowl was steadfast. He let out a sigh, almost as if he were disappointed. He shook his head and amended the words. "The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

Aerith started to say something, but Yuffie beat her to the punch. "You're with the Organization," she all but snarled, gripping her weapon tighter in her hands with this. "So that means you're part of whatever is making this happen!" Axel only grinned; the anger that was curling inside of the girl's stomach got even worse. "I'll make you regret it!" she screamed, already charging towards him. Aerith tried to call out, but it was far too late to try and stop her.

Drawing her ninja stars forward, she threw them as hard as she could. Axel stepped to the side, ducking out of the way of the oncoming blades. It barely grazed his ear, and the Organization member stopped short as he watched the things turn to spin their way back to the girl. She'd skidded to a stop a ways away, and reached up, plucking them out of the air once they were close enough. He was cracking that grin again. "So close," he remarked, the girl furious at the sarcastic tone reverberating in his voice. "You get an A for effort though."

She growled, throwing her weapons again. But this time Axel was ready. Instead of ducking away, he reached out and grabbed the pesky things out of the air, himself. He smirked at the shocked look on her face. "Whoops," he snickered. "I guess my fingers slipped," he said, lazily spinning the weapons.

Gritting her teeth, Yuffie took a threatening step towards the man. "You'd better give those back or—" Her threat was cut off as Axel raised one of her stars in the air with a sudden lean forward. She jumped backwards, throwing her arms up over her face to shield herself from the oncoming blow. But he stopped just before he could actually act. His smile grew wider, and he just let his arm fall again.

She turned bright red, trembling with frustration when she straightened again. Glaring at Axel and clenching her hands, she hissed over to Aerith: "Do you have a weapon on you?" Her heart pounded, the blood was roaring in her ears. Even putting Axel  _aside,_ other Heartless were beginning to advance. They were only getting closer with every second. She didn't stand nearly as good a chance against them as she would if she had something to fight with. But Aerith shook her head, and dashed her hopes. She tried to keep her disappointment and panic as far away from her as possible, to prevent it from being too apparent on her face. She didn't want to give Axel the satisfaction.

If there wasn't another option, she just had to get  _hers_ back. She sucked in a deep breath, and steeled herself. She was so tired at this point, but she crouched down a little and braced herself, before she threw herself into yet another run. She ran as fast as she could, gaining momentum and focusing on the weapons he was keeping from her. She could knock him over— if she could stun him enough, snatching them back would be a piece of cake. As if the thoughts gave her energy, she pushed off the ground, soaring forward and lashing out with one leg, aiming to slam square into his face.

But Axel met her head-on. He slashed out with her own weapons, catching her leg and striking her with enough force to send her flying backwards. She screamed as her skin was spliced; knocked back, Yuffie fell onto the ground and gasped shallowly as she looked down at her leg. It was already bleeding, and bleeding heavily. It was a good thing she was winded from her collision to the ground, because the pain that was now blinding her would have her screeching at the top of her lungs.

"Now, look what you made me do," Axel sighed. The experience he had with these types of weapons was made clear as he advanced on her; he was spinning them expertly, without a single glance towards them. Aerith had run forward; now, she'd fallen to her knees, and now she was crouched over her, trying to offer protection. But she didn't have much. Yuffie could see that her friend was shaking, despite her façade of bravery. And that her shaking was only getting worse the closer Axel got to them. Yuffie tried to stand; she tried to fight more. But she couldn't. She was in too much pain. All she could do was lay there helplessly, feeling panic and fright layer more and more on her chest the closer he got.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

"Need some help?" Sora had been hammering through as many Heartless as he could, his blue eyes glazed over with the effort each swipe was starting to take. He had killed probably a hundred and one so far, but that didn't seem to matter. He killed one, and two more came to replace them. He knew it was better for Yuffie to go and help Aerith rather than him. But that just meant his effort was tripled. He was running out of energy  _fast_ …so when he heard the familiar voice, gratitude rushed through him and a smile spread over his face. Sure enough, he whirled around and brightened when he saw Leon running up the hill towards him. "In a tough situation?" he asked, eyeing the horde of Heartless clambering over one another in the attempt to get a swipe at the keyblade bearer.

Despite everything, Sora let out a laugh, a little out of frustration, mostly out of relief. "Not anymore," he grunted, ducking away from a Shadow that tried to take a swipe at him. Leon paused only a moment to give a laugh at the boy's response before he turned and delved into the fight himself, his large sword taking down Heartless at a much bigger range than Sora could manage. With his help, for however long it would stay here, Sora could get a little bit of respite.

He took this second to actually breathe, one eye closed in pain as he surveyed the enemies that were still left— which was still a daunting number. Gritting his teeth, he waited, digging his heels down deep into the ground. Right before any of them could get the chance to strike, Sora extended his keyblade and began to spin as fast as he could manage. Making sure his arms were rigid and his hands were glued firmly to the hilt of keyblade, Sora smirked triumphantly as he felt the weapon strike his intended targets that had been surrounding him in tightly-knit circle. Afterwards, he let himself relax briefly again; his muscles were burning.

But his rest was interrupted as a stabbing pain— a Shadow had gotten near enough to claw at his leg. He rolled away from the attack, getting dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. He quickly jammed his feet down, scuffing the ground in a wild attempt to stop himself before he could topple right over. He wasn't sure whether or not he could mimic Yuffie and hop all the way down, but he definitely wasn't about to put the question to the test right at this moment. A skeleton of broken bones wasn't  _too_ high on his priority list. Thankfully, he managed to stop himself; once he skidded, he let out a heavy exhale. He put his hands down and prepared himself to spring back up to his feet. But he but stopped at the sight he saw below.

He couldn't help but let out a gasp, loud enough for Leon to hear even where he was fighting. He swiped through the Heartless nearest him, before he doubled over. He rushed to Sora's side; the younger still hadn't even stood up. Leon was just confused, at first, but he followed his gaze and stiffened. There was a clearing down there— a spot where most of the Heartless were gone. Others were rushing, of course, to fill it, but for now, all that was there were three people. Sora recognized Aerith and Yuffie immediately. He didn't recognize the person that was advancing, but he could make out their black coat. "The Organization!" Leon yelled. Sora just watched nervously, his eyes zeroing in on the two girls, who were both on the ground. Neither of them were moving. They were in  _trouble._  "We have to get down there and help them!"

He shook himself out of the reverie. He jumped to his feet, feeling panic and anger flare together in the pit of his stomach. He opened his mouth to agree, but before he could, something made painful contact with the back of his head. He cried out, falling forward from the unexpected blow. Immediately, Leon grabbed onto his arm and pulled back, narrowly saving him from plummeting to the ground. With his other hand, he turned and shot at the Shadow that had struck Sora, pulling the young boy back up and onto safe ground. He was shaken, not only from the attack, but from the fact he'd almost fallen. He shot Leon a look that was meant to be thankful, but was still twisted in pain. "Thanks," he choked, rubbing the back of his head.

He nodded, not dwelling on it. He let go of Sora's arm and looked down to their friends. "We can't both go," Leon said tensely. Sora's eyes flashed, but he couldn't argue. Already, he was glancing over his shoulder and swallowing his frustration when more Heartless just kept creeping out of their shadows, crowding the cliff more and more. "Can you handle things here?" The question was asked hesitantly, and with a little bit of guilt, too. Just like Yuffie had sounded when  _she_ had considered leaving him behind. It was the second time the question had been asked, and his reply was just the same as it had been the first time around.

He replied immediately, and with more than enough confidence. "Yeah, sure!" He turned just in time to parry a blow and send the Heartless reeling back. Leon hesitated, but Sora was focused elsewhere. He could handle things. Other people were in need of help— he wasn't going to stand in their way. He'd run down there  _himself,_ and help, if he could. Leon had to get down there for him. "Don't worry about me! You go and help them! I've got these guys!"

Leon still stayed for a few heartbeats. He looked at the teenager with his eyebrows a little pulled together in skepticism. Still, though, Sora wasn't paying attention; he'd redirected back to the fight at hand. So, eventually, he ducked his head and turned. He followed the way Yuffie had gone, and he started to jump down for the ravine, rocky outcrop by rocky outcrop. Sora didn't even watch him go, or even really notice. He had too much to do, here. He'd been fighting for ages, but it looked like he hadn't even  _started_. "You guys are so  _annoying_!" he yelled loudly at all the enemies still around him. As if in response, three Air Soldiers entered the fight, flying out and diving for Sora in a wild barrel roll.

He just groaned. Ducked away from them, and held his keyblade tighter. Ignored the exhaustion setting into him and forced himself to keep going.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

"Look, I don't want to be violent or anything. I don't want to be the bad guy, here," Axel said, his tone much too light for the situation. Yuffie's face turned from panic to slight puzzlement, the girl slacking from her tense posture moments before. Axel just sighed. "But, unfortunately I'm under strict orders  _to_  do that…" He looked down at the ground thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging. "Ah, well." he said finally, turning back to Yuffie. "At least now you know that it's nothing personal."

But before he could do anything, something slammed into the Organization member from behind, knocking him off balance and making him stagger forward. Thankfully, Aerith realized this and tugged Yuffie backwards not a second too soon. Axel was knocked right into the place where she had been sitting moments before. Once the redhead managed to catch himself, he spun around to see who had attacked him. His eyes clashed with another man. A person with spiky brown hair, and a – probably excessively – large sword poised and ready for battle in his grip.

Axel was trying to come up with some 'smart' way to ask him what the heck he was doing, but he was coming up short. It was a bit of relief, actually, when the other spoke up first anyway. "What did you think you're doing?" the newcomer demanded. Behind him, Aerith was beginning to help Yuffie up, steadying her friend and trying to make sure she didn't fall. She was wobbling on her feet, and her expression was twisted in severe pain. But she was forcing herself to balance, and recovering enough to glare daggers back at Axel. Leon continued, in no way comforted by the fact she could at least stand up. "Did you think they were the only ones here?"

Axel eyed him a moment. Before he pasted a smirk on his face and dusted himself off pointedly. "Nah, I knew there were more. What do you take me for, an idiot? I think I deserve more credit than that, don't you think?"

"Humph. Maybe," Leon grunted ungraciously. "We'll find out." Raising his sword, he pointed it over at Axel with a threatening air. "You're going to give my friend back her weapon. And  _then_  we'll see who deserves more credit." Axel glanced down at the ninja stars he still held in his hands; he'd almost forgotten he'd had them. He laughed a little. Before he turned and tossed them over towards Yuffie lazily. She instantly reached down to scoop up her treasures, relieved but wary at their return.

"Fine. We don't have much time, though. I've got a strict schedule to keep," Axel snorted, the Heartless still rushing forward and closing the distance fast. The trio around him were confused by the odd statement— as to be expected. His smirk grew a little more, with the detail. But before they could ask the question he knew would on their tongues already, he continued, summoning his own weapons instead, feeling the familiar heat of his flames follow when he did. "So I'll have to make this quick."

And with that, the fight began.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

Slicing through a runaway Soldier, finally finishing off the last Heartless, Sora found himself out of breath; no matter how much he gasped, no amount of air seemed to be enough for his lungs. In the back of his mind he wished that he could just flop down onto the ground; his energy had leaked out of his entire body quicker than he even thought possible, and maybe if he just rested for a  _couple minutes,_ his muscles would stop  _burning_. It certainly sounded like the perfect thing to do right about now. But he shrugged off the tempting thought. Donald and the king would be waiting for him. He just gritted his teeth against his exhaustion and whirled back around to continue making his way up the ridge. He was already anticipating running into a lot more Heartless. The place was crawling with them. As he started running again, he tried to plan on what he was going to do should further confrontation be the only option. But right as he was about to enter the passage itself, he found himself suddenly slamming into a wall.

He hit it hard— so hard, his teeth rattled. He stumbled backwards, grimacing and hissing in pain. He looked ahead, wondering if he was so preoccupied he'd just run straight into the rock. But a deep frown of puzzlement came over his face; the path was perfectly clear. There was nothing in the way…so…what gives? He walked forward, much slower this time, and reached out with one hand. Almost at once, it got rejected, stopping in mid-air against…nothing. The barrier? Sora turned again, going in small circles so he could survey every inch around him. But there was nothing around. He had gotten every Heartless! Why wasn't he going through? Why was the barrier still up if there were none left?

"A little confused, I see." Sora stiffened at once when a voice echoed off the rocks around him, out of nowhere. It sounded familiar; he wasn't sure from where. He turned in even more circles, to find the owner, but he came up just as empty with this, too. He was in the only one in the clearing. And yet, the voice continued to go on. For some reason, its tone was making a chill claw its way down his spine. He was backing up, unease beginning to foster a home inside his chest. "That's natural of course. You're used to everything falling into place for you; all you have to do is swing that pretty little key around. It's like  _magic_." The last word ended on a mocking tone. Sora's eyes narrowed more. "But trust me, dear boy, that all will change soon enough."

No sooner was this said, did black portals appear out of nowhere in front of him, forming a semi-circle in a way that surrounded him against the barrier that was still up. Sora's throat closed in anxiety. Anxiety that only grew when hooded figures stepped out one by one. Members of the Organization. Subconsciously, he was starting to back up as his eyes flickered from one person to another. One was unfamiliar to Sora, but others he knew from thumbing through Jiminy's journal. Xigbar, Xaldin, Luxord, and Saix stood among the rank in front of him. They were all wearing the same twisted kind of smile. Sora's heart was ramming against his chest, and he realized too late that he had literally backed himself into a corner, when he felt his back hit the invisible wall that was keeping him from fleeing.

It took a second for the shock to fade, but Sora locked his jaw backwards as he summoned his keyblade back again. He held it tight and crouched down in a readied position, eyeing the new group with clear distrust and disdain. Their smiles only seemed to grow. In the back of his mind, he was screaming at himself the reminder that he didn't have a lot of potions left; he had used up most of them when battling Demyx. He probably only had one left, if he had one at all. Not to mention, he was already so tired from all the fighting heh ad been forced to do all day. He knew this was a bad situation…to put it in gentle terms, of course. But it wasn't like he had many options. He couldn't keep up the path with the barrier in front of him. And he couldn't run ahead, with the Organization acting as a wall, too. Already, he was trying to do the math on whether he could make it if he leapt down the side of the gully. Before he could follow that thought too far, though, someone was speaking.

"Look at that," Luxord scoffed, eyeing Sora's keyblade with contempt. "He thinks that he can win this game."

"Five against one doesn't add up, does it?" Xaldin presumed.

Luxord smiled…it was a grin that made Sora want to be sick. "That's how you win a game," he stated. "You stack the odds."

"Everything is a game to you, Luxord," Xaldin sighed. "Can't it be anything else?"

"Stop bickering." Sora's grip tightened on his weapon as the unfamiliar figure said this. He hadn't even seen him before; he had no idea who they were. But they were tall and imposing, and their yellow eyes were cold and merciless as they locked with Sora's blue ones. As they narrowed, and he scowled, against the young hero's growing wariness. "We have a job to finish, and we have to make it quick. Axel can only keep his distraction up for so long; and us standing here doing nothing will not help him."

His anxiety was only fluttering harder in his chest, but Sora fought not to let it show. He just looked the group up and down and scowled. "Do you always say random stuff; or is it just when you're around me?" he spat. It seemed that whenever an Organization person started to talk, and it didn't matter who it was, their words were always lost on him. It was either that they had no sense whatsoever as a whole, or he was just missing something. He hadn't really cared all that much at the very start, but by  _now,_ he had to admit, he was starting to get kinda ticked off. Ticked off enough to actually feel a bit of impatience underneath his caution.

Nobody answered; they all just looked at him. He started to open his mouth and maybe say something else— maybe they didn't appreciate his jabs at them, but somehow they helped make him feel a little more in control of the situation. Which, right about now, stuck where he was…he needed a little bit of that control. However, he didn't have the  _time_  to say anything else. Before he could, the five men in front of him drew their weapons in one swift, unannounced but synchronized motion. He hardly even registered the fact, before they were charging at him all at once.

Pure panic sprung like fire throughout his bloodstream the instant they did. He had only a millisecond to roll out of the way. He managed it, by the skin of his teeth. He skidded and shoved himself up, looking with alarm to realize that Xaldin's lances were just passing through the very spot he had been standing in moments before. He gasped, quickly falling into hyperventilation, both from adrenaline and fear alike. He had no idea what was happening. They'd said nothing— they'd wanted _nothing!_  Was there a goal? What were they doing here all at  _once?_  He was trying to wrack his brain, when a sharp burning sensation stabbed itself straight through his arm. He cried out, staggering backwards and looking down with huge eyes. His shirt sleeve was burned through— the fabric was blackened in that spot, and smoking; underneath, his skin was blistering bright, agonizing red. The instant he looked down, another laser shot out, striking the same place, and Sora, barely holding back a scream of pain, rushed to stagger out of range to what might be a safer distance. Though there wasn't much room to go.

It was a struggle to wipe his mind free of panic enough to actually  _think._ He hadn't faced these people before; he had no idea what to expect from them! He didn't know their tactics, he didn't know any weaknesses he could use to his advantage, and he had no idea what kind of capability they had. Fear was trying to take ahold of him and drag him down. But he stopped himself. Stayed stubborn. He shoved it all down and cleared it all away; it didn't matter. He'd figure it out. He wasn't going to back down without a fight, and if a fight was what these jerks wanted, then he'd be more than happy to give them exactly that. He couldn't let his fear win. He had to stay in control, no matter what.

They were all rushing at him again, but instead of backpedaling, Sora held onto his keyblade tighter and scowled. He held it tightly and gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes in concentration. Just like before, he dug his heels into the ground and threw his weight to the side, slamming his blade out as fixedly as he could, and spinning in a circle to catch as many as he could in one strong blow. He only struck a few, those who were closest to them, and thanks to the hurried way that it was carried out, and thanks to his weakened strength, it was hardly one of his most powerful attacks. But it did the job, to injure at least those who were nearest him. It was a small victory, but at least he got  _somewhere_.

He didn't have time to relish in the achievement. He had to throw himself to the ground and roll away from yet another attack— this one from a huge claymore, coming from Saix. He willed himself to remember whose weapon was whose. He would take  _any_ amount of knowledge, at this point. The second he leapt back to his feet, the unfamiliar man was right on top of him, swinging out with his weapons— glowing red laser swords. Sora yanked his keyblade up at the last second to block. He grunted in the effort it took to try and fight back on the way he was pressing down. He was much stronger than Sora was, and his arms shook as he fought to keep the hot blades from getting any closer to his face. The other adversaries slipped his mind in that moment, as he fought. It was all he could do to push back— to keep his feet from slipping, to not buckle under the pressure, to meet the man's glare head-on with his own.

Xigbar took advantage of his lack of attention. Another laser struck home, burying itself in his arm this time and rendering it useless against the burst of pain. It buckled the same moment that Sora screamed, and the mystery man took his chance. He struck out hard; not only was Sora burned from the swords themselves, but he was also knocked back a clear five or six feet, and ramming into the ground with a painful thud. And he didn't even have a single second to recover, before an oversized card was appearing and slamming down on him, crushing him hard on impact. His head hit the rock below hard, and Sora's vision exploded in pure white as he felt blood gush down his neck. He longed to leap up to his feet like he had been doing— he wanted to run and jump right back into action, but suddenly all he could manage were stiff, short movements. His arm was on fire, his chest was aching, he was struggling for air after his collision with the ground, and his now-bleeding head pounded.

He was hurt. He needed help.

He kept trying, regardless. Sora squeezed his eyes shut and put the injuries out of his mind, forcing himself up to his feet and trying to blink enough to clear his vision, which was getting more and more warped. Luxord was closest. Without putting as much thought into what he was doing, Sora just swung out at him, struggling to put as much strength behind the attack. He felt a minimal sense of relief when his keyblade found home, and at Luxord's shout of pain, Sora found the encouragement to keep swinging, and land a couple more blows. But he only got a few in before the man with the yellow eyes was racing for him again, catching him by surprise this time and raining blow after blow on the unsuspecting teen. Sora was thrown to the side, choking as he tried to stagger in any way he could to get free of the attacks. Before he could figure out away, someone  _else_ was joining in.

Xaldin threw his lances in quick succession, four in total stabbing themselves deep into Sora's skin. Screaming, the keybearer staggered, and his other assailant took the opportunity to slam his swords down on him harder. His legs gave out; the pain was too much, and he couldn't support himself. He fell with a heavy thud. He was gasping and flinching against the pain, fighting as best he could to keep his head above it and keep from drowning in it all. Fighting to keep breathing, to keep rational, to keep in control. He tried to push himself up, tried to keep going. Tried to keep his mind on Donald and the king. He had to get to them. If he could just manage that somehow, they could help him. His arms shook violently as he attempted yet again to get back up. But another burning burst of fire slammed into his side, digging into his ribs and eliciting yet another pain-filled screech from the young boy.

He was forced back down. He had started this fight only with a quarter of the energy he'd started out the day with, and now he was on empty. He could  _feel_ his arms struggling to push himself up – shaking in the effort – but he couldn't actually get himself there. His vision was foggy and smeared, and blood was roaring in his ears, a sentiment to the panic that was eating him alive. He was trying to fight it, but against the agony, his mind was going fuzzy and blank. The blows kept coming, as he dug his fingers hard into the ground; he couldn't even tell what, or who, was hitting him at this point— it just hurt, and the pain wouldn't  _stop._

Blackness played on the edge of his vision, bending forward like hanging curtains that were threatening to fall in front of his face. Thoughts were growing slurred and panicked, making little to no sense even to  _him_. This was  _bad_. That was the  _one_ thought that actually was coherent.  _This is bad, this is bad._ The lasers kept raining down on him relentlessly, he felt something stab straight through his ankle— none of his screaming was making a difference, it all just kept coming. It was only his fear and his panic that gave him enough strength and speed to reach down into his pocket, when he wasn't flinching away from the merciless assault.

His hand shot every way, trying to grasp at the one potion bottle he knew had to be in there somewhere. He  _might_  have touched it; but the effort was for nothing. The lasers started to shoot more, and shoot faster. The stabbing sensations that were coming from  _something_ were only getting worse— stabbing over and over into his leg, twisting horribly to make him scream. Without even thinking, because he didn't have  _control_ over it anymore, Sora fell limp. His body gave out on him, and it was all he could do to curl up and throw his arms over his head, in a pitiful last-ditch attempt at shielding himself. He just kept screaming and crying at the attacks, feeling himself get fuzzier and fuzzier the longer it didn't let up. Unable to do anything but suffer in the pain.

Gradually, everything started to recede…until it stopped altogether. Sora's eyes had long since closed. His expression was partly numbed, he was so far gone, but there was still a sense of pain on his face— only there because it was so horrible in magnitude. He made a move like he was going to get up…it was only a feeble twitch. With that twitch, his arms fell away from his head and slid to the ground. The burn wounds marking him made painful, searing contact with the rocks below. But despite the agony, at this point, all that got out of him was a tiny whimper. His thoughts were even harder to make sense of. But one stuck out, in his groggy mind.

Donald and Mickey. They were waiting for him.

What would happen now?

"Grab him, we have to leave before anybody sees," somebody muttered.

The back of Sora's collar was grabbed. He barley registered the fact that someone was beginning to yank him up. He was bordering on the edge of unconsciousness, and barely a hair's-length from losing touch with everything altogether. But when he felt himself being moved, he tried only last time. To break free. But his body wouldn't listen to him; he found that he couldn't even twitch a  _single_  muscle without pure  _agony_  flashing through him. He couldn't do anything at all as he felt himself being dragged along the ground. He couldn't even open his eyes, or pick his head up. Where were they taking him? His breathing quickened, his numbed expression broke with pure fear. In theory, he wanted to kick and scream and twist and fight— to do anything to break free. But in reality, all he could manage was a feeble yank his arm, or a tiny kick of his leg. Even those were too much— they were accompanied with yelps and whimpers.

The grip on his collar tightened, voices muttering in the black fuzziness of his head. If they were talking to him, he couldn't understand what they were saying. He just kept trying to pull himself out. To at least dig a heel into the ground, or reach up and try to pry the fingers off of his clothes. He  _had_  to break free. He had to do  _something_. The voices got a little louder, but still, they sounded like static to him. He kept trying to move in any way. But no. He screamed out a pathetic-sounding choke when something made heavy contact with the side of his head. Maybe it was the blunt end of a sword, maybe it was a boot, but whatever it was, it threw his head to the side and made him go blank for a good ten seconds, pain blinding him to such degree it yanked away his senses for the time being.

He barely came back. The pain was so severe now that he was beginning to shake, and practically convulse. He couldn't think of a lot of things right then. Nothing besides the sheer pain that was crushing him. But he realized, as he felt himself continue to be dragged along the ground…that he'd lost. That he was stuck. That he didn't know what to do. What  _could_ he do? Nothing. He couldn't do anything. Couldn't even think. It was all leaving him now— his head was lolling forward and he didn't even have the strength to lift it back up. He was just scared. His fear and his pain…those were the only two things he knew for sure.

So it was almost just as much a surprise to him as it was the members of the Organization when he suddenly sucked in a deep breath, ignoring the pain that lit up in his ribs in response. Without conscious thought, Sora screamed, as loud and as long as humanly possible, especially in his condition. His screech bounced off the rocks around them. Filling the gully briefly only because it was fueled by pure desperation and fear and panic, and everything in between. Sora was hardly even aware of it in the first place. He certainly didn't know what he was saying. But he screamed anyway. Pleading for help from the last friend he had seen.

" _Leon!"_

No sooner did that second syllable escape his mouth, did something heavy collide against his head yet again. Only this time, it was much harder. And this time, he couldn't stand up against it.

This time, the second he was hit, he was knocked unconscious.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

" _Leon!"_

The screech echoed over the rocks and bounced off the walls of the canyon. It was only two syllables, but those two syllables were packed with panic and fear and hysteria…and most of all: horrible, horrible pain. He froze the second he heard his name; mid-swing, he stopped, his heart stopping in his chest as his eyes flew huge. The others stopped as well; Aerith's green eyes flooded with alarm, and Yuffie jerked backwards, horror flooding over her face. Even Axel stopped short. They were silent and stiff, just listening to the scream for what felt like ages, though it couldn't have been more than a few seconds until it was fading into mere echoes, and after that, nothing more.

It took a moment for him to recollected himself enough to move. Once he did, Leon whirled around, stricken as he looked back towards the cliff that he had left Sora only a short while ago. He strained to see anything— to catch even the smallest of glimpses of activity, but there was nothing. He waited, in case there was another yell. But it was like there hadn't even been a scream in the first place. It was silent…and that silence was horrifying to hear. None of them moved again— they were stuck there. It  _had_ been Sora's voice…but none of them had ever heard him sound like  _that._ That in pain, that  _terrified._ It didn't even sound like him.

He'd turned back to look at the others, but Leon's eyes caught on Axel. He realized he'd straightened; his weapons were gone. He was wearing a different kind of smirk on his face, now. Leon immediately fixed him with a blistering glower, but he just offered an aimless shrug. "Looks like I'll take my leave here," he sighed. "Don't want to mess with any Heartless; far too annoying, you know?" Sure enough, the Heartless were ten seconds from closing in on them.

Yuffie looked enraged. She was sharing Leon's thought process: there was suspicion and anger and rage clear in her eyes, and despite her ankle, she took a few steps closer, raising her weapons threateningly. She opened her mouth, ready to hurl a question at him. But apparently Axel didn't want to hear it. He threw his arm out to the side and conjured a portal. Yuffie started to try and run, but she was too slow. He was gone in less than an instant, and her stars ended up just passing through empty air.

She scowled at the spot he'd been in just a second ago. But she quickly abandoned that line of thought, to look over her shoulder instead. Leon met her gaze only for a heartbeat before he was whirling back to look at the cliff. His heart was already thudding hard against his ribs. The yell had long since echoed out, but it was still ringing in his ears, still causing panic to sink into him. Yuffie started stumbling back towards him. "That was Sora!" she yelled. Her voice was swamped with fear and concern. Aerith was shocked silent; she was looking between them and the Heartless that were still rushing towards them. Yuffie was only focused on one thing, though. "That was  _Sora_!" she repeated. Leon cringed. "We have to go and help him!"

Leon didn't often let himself show when he was anxious. If some wore their hearts on their sleeves, he was wearing about fifty coats at all times. But after hearing the scream – after hearing  _that_ scream in particular – and knowing for a fact who it belonged to, Leon was quickly weakening into fear. Fear that was apparent on his face, and only growing more so. He couldn't say anything, but he managed to give a nod. He looked at her injured ankle doubtfully. She waved it off. Just shook her head and snapped: "You go on ahead. Aerith and I will catch up with you." Still, Leon hesitated. But there wasn't  _time._ Her next words came out harder, in more of a yell.  _"Go! Sora needs you!"_

It was harsh, but it snapped him into motion. He jerked and shook his head to clear it. Spun around after one more moment, to take off sprinting back the way he had come. Yuffie started running after. When she started to stumble, Aerith ducked underneath her arm and draped it around the back of her neck, to support her. She flashed her a look filled with gratitude, and Aerith smiled back. The two of them worked together; Aerith supported her as best she could and started to help her run. Every so often, Yuffie turned and threw a star back towards the Heartless behind him, slashing through the shadows that got too close.

It took a while— much longer than it took Leon. They had difficulty scaling the cliff again, climbing outcrop by outcrop. Yuffie's ankle was on fire, even though it had stopped bleeding a while ago. But she refused to let herself stop because of that. She gritted her teeth against the pain and just scrambled about Aerith, keeping Sora's yell in her mind to keep herself moving. He'd sounded terrified.  _Hurt._ She'd left him to go help Aerith, thinking her friend had needed it more, but now it sounded like he was in some kind of terrible danger. Her guilt and fear was enough fuel for her legs, even  _with_ the injury. She had to reach her friend, before it was too late.

Aerith helped her when she could, climbing below her just in case Yuffie slipped and she needed to catch her. But she made it without falling. She was panting and sweating from the effort by the time she did— her climb  _up,_ in this state, was  _much_ harder than when she'd just hopped down in the first place. But finally, she clawed over the top and got back onto solid ground, gasping for air as she ended up just falling to the ground. Aerith sprang up to her side, and checked her for an anxious second. But she moved on fast. The both of them did. They looked up instead, scared and on-edge as they immediately scanned through the clearing.

Leon was standing there already. He was still looking around. He was stiff and apprehensive— Yuffie could feel it coming off of him in waves, for once, and she realized  _why._ Sora wasn't here. Nobody else was; the only people there were them three. Yuffie's heart was already sinking, but it just sank more when Leon cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled.  _"Sora!"_ They all waited, their hearts in their throats. Nobody replied. Sora wasn't there, and he wasn't in hearing distance, either. That, or he  _couldn't_ call back. Which one was it? Which on was  _worse?_

" _Sora!?"_ Leon screamed. He was losing control of himself. His fear was getting worse. He looked up the path, trying to see if he was there, and had gone on ahead. But there was nothing there, either. Did he recover from whatever had made him scream? Did he just go on ahead? He'd only yelled a short while ago— where could he have gone? What could have happened to him? He clenched his hands at his side, in an absent effort to try and calm himself, and hide that they were beginning to shake. But none of the others would judge him. They both looked terrified and confused, and worried. All remembering Sora's scream, but now just looking at the spot he'd been and seeing absolutely nothing.

There was just nothing.

There wasn't even a sign that he had been there in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's started reading this! Hopefully updates for this won't take too long, considering I'm just going back through and fixing little details here and there. But I'm very glad people seem to be liking this so far! I hope you like all where I take it. Next chapter is when everything starts to pick up! <3

Xemnas eyed the area around him with contempt. Yet, as he paced further, there was thought creased over his expression. Thoughts mulling through his head, he relayed what he would say, knowing that he would have to tread carefully here, and watch where he put his feet. Normally he didn't take such clear caution. But he wasn't in his own territory now…he was in the enemy's. His steps were sure-footed, and there wasn't any question or hesitance in his eyes. But nothing else made it to the surface. He was cool and collected. Confident. It was just the added sense of caution in the very back of it all that was different. He was confident, but he wasn't a fool.

As he walked, his footsteps echoing off the walls, he wondered how the others were fairing. Whether or not they were handling the situation well enough in his absence. He'd entrusted them with the task of getting the keybearer back and secure. He was sure they all could manage, between themselves, but there was a niggling doubt in the back of his mind. They couldn't afford a single slip-up; with the scream Sora had managed to get out, they were already one deep.

In hindsight, he knew it was a result of lack of planning on their part. He'd underestimated him. As it  _was,_ he didn't anticipate Sora lasting as long as he did. He'd thought they would have him right away, but child had refused to stop fighting. He'd left some of their members with bitter wounds, even. And even when he'd been bested – even when they were positive he was out of commission – somehow, he managed to scream out for help, loud enough for certainly  _someone_ to hear.

He'd underestimated him. He admitted that. But he was promising himself now, that he wouldn't make that same mistake again. There would be no more flaws, and no more slip-ups. It didn't matter, regardless. Sora may have screamed out, but if someone had heard him, they hadn't come in enough time to make a difference. Nobody stopped them, on their way out— they were able to draw up a portal and drag him away, once they made sure to knock him unconscious. Axel had pulled through with his distraction, and had met up with the others. It was an inconvenience, but it didn't affect their situation in the slightest.

Sora had put up  _far_  greater a fight than anyone had anticipated. But they had still won.

There was just one part left in their plan…then it could actually be put into motion. Xemnas was prepared to admit that it was a  _difficult_  part. But at the same time, it was vital. If they didn't pull this part off, this would all be for nothing. As he walked, he turned and looked down into the gully, where some stray Heartless were still milling about. The beings were slowly dwindling in their numbers; the tides had turned some time ago. The people of Hollow Bastian were beginning to win this fight. It would probably end soon enough.

He dismissed the thought, reasserting that it didn't matter. He just kept walking, and rediverted his attention to go back to looking around his broken surroundings again. She had to be around here somewhere. She'd taken up a sort of residence in this broken-down castle. If he was to find her, he was sure that it would be here. If she wasn't here now, she'd certainly come once she realized  _he_ was. But the Heartless were swarmed around this centerpiece of the world. It would make sense for her to be here. Though he was still coming up empty. He'd traversed nearly the entire castle, and nothing. His eyes narrowed as he slowed to a halt. He clasped his hands behind his back, contemplating for a few moments. He started to open his mouth to call out, when a sudden voice broke through the silence.

"Who're you?" Xemnas turned, and his eyes stayed narrowed. He found himself looking at…a cat. A large, very fat, cat. He recognized them as Maleficent's lacky. The one that she somehow kept around, even though he was vastly incompetent. He supposed it was just because of the fact he was  _so_ incompetent, that he would blindly do whatever she asked him to. Sometimes the dumb made themselves the most useful. And he certainly seemed to fit the part. Xemnas never realized someone could look so  _vacant_ and  _dim_ at the same exact time they were glaring you down.

"I've come here for an audience with Maleficent," he said eventually. "Do you know where she is?"

"Maybe I do," the cat scoffed. He was looking the man up and down, like he was some kind of threat. "Whatdaya want with her? She don't take too kindly to strangers waltzin' in here without an invitation." Xemnas was doing his best to keep his face blank, and not to allow himself to cave into irritation  _too_ quickly. It was enough effort to focus on his voice at all, and just realize what he was  _saying._ He had no idea what accent this cat had, but it was awfully annoying. Or…maybe it wasn't an accent; maybe it was just a form of ignorance. "And besides, she don't let nobody in here but me, 'cause  _I'm_  her assistant! So you'd better skedaddle, 'fore she-"

He was through listening. "I have a proposition for her," he interrupted, his voice cool. "One I'm sure she would be interested in."

"Is that right?" the cat queried in suspicion. "Well, I'm sure that she wouldn't-"

"A proposition?" A voice sounded directly behind Xemnas. A thin and rasping voice. A voice that surely existed just to give children nightmares. Xemnas turned to see Maleficent walking out of the shadows of a branching hall. Already, her nose was wrinkled; she wore the expression of someone who was smelling some foul odor that refused to go away. "What are you doing here?" she snapped. "I do not make 'propositions' with the likes of the  _Organization_." The last word dripped with disdain. Xemnas fought to keep his face blank. "You have nothing of interest to me; get out of my sight," she continued. The cat shot Xemnas a smug look as if to say: 'I-told-you-so.' He tried to ignore it. Maleficent was already turning away, and he was rushing to stop her before she did.

"I may have something of your interest  _now_ ," he called. She stopped short. She stood still for some time, staring straight ahead. He could see her debate. It took a couple moments, but she eventually turned. A small smile twitched the edges of his lips as he saw her reluctant interest underneath the façade of her glare. "You see, I something you've wanted for quite a long time." Her eyes flashed. She was less able to hide this interest, now. It was making him smile all the wider. He left a gap of silence. Before he declared: "I have the keyblade bearer."

The words hung in the air for the longest time. The cat seemed to be the only one reacting to the news; looking between the two of them, he let took a loud, dramatic gasp. But other than that, there was silence. Xemnas stared at Maleficent intently, but she was unresponsive. Her face was completely blank, as she stared back at him. Slowly, she began to scowl. Pure loathing was flooding her gaze, and Xemnas' eyes flashed when he saw that bright green flames were beginning to curl off of her. When she spoke, her voice was saturated with pure hatred. "You are lying through your teeth!" she yelled, her flames growing in heat and size. Xemnas' own expression began to narrow into a glower. "An incompetent person like you could never pull off such a feat!"

"Do you want proof, you witch?" Xemnas snapped. She said nothing; her glare stayed put. The flames began to decay just a little, however, the embers stayed burning at her feet. Xemnas turned and reached back into his cloak, feeling for the item he had stashed away earlier. His hands closed around the star shape, and he withdrew it promptly, extending his arm and showing it her. Immediately, he recognized the way she stiffened. The way her eyes widened. That smug grin was inching its way back over his face. He didn't need to give the explanation, but he did regardless. Possibly just because he wanted to hear the words himself. "This is one of his possessions."

It was a small star trinket, colored in bright sea colors. In the very center was a crudely-drawn smiley face. Right before they had left, Xemnas had noticed that it was on the ground, near him. He'd taken the liberty of picking it up and taking it for himself. "It had been hanging off of the end of his keyblade. It fell off during our battle…if you could  _call_  it that." Again, that smug satisfaction. Maleficent frowned, studying the charm in silence, still. He wondered whether or not she had seen it before, and was recognizing it. He could see the understanding dawning over her, now. Though she still hesitated. And after a moment, she swung around and walked the way she'd come, her steps brisk and hurried.

The cat wasted no time before hurrying after her. He was like her shadow. Xemnas' eyes were bright with frustration by this point. He lingered by himself at first, taking the second to regather himself and will himself patience. The witch was stubborn, and headstrong— he knew this going in. He knew there would be sacrifices to be made, this being one of them. All the same, he had to make a significant effort to push everything else down. He took in a deep breath before he started after her. He was refusing to be dismissed. This was the last part they needed in their plan— leaving here without her aide was not an option.

He followed her into a room. It was small, and by the time he caught up to her, she was standing in the center of it. She was standing in front of a small column— a pedestal of sorts, which was shining a dull green. She was staring at it intently, and mumbling a spell. He watched as the glow grew steadily brighter. And once her spell finished, and once the light grew bright enough, he realized that shapes were beginning to take form. Maleficent was watching closely, and once the image was conjured and brought into focus, he was very aware of the fact she straightened. The way her shoulders tensed in surprise. He looked at the conjured scene, and now there was no doubting his arrogant triumph as a disgusting sort of grin spread over his face. "You see?" he demanded. "I'm no liar."

In the green light, was the group he had left behind, walking in place, cut out of real time and casted to them. What was left of the Organization was heading back to their home base, and forcibly pulled along, was the keyblade bearer. He was still unconscious— he wasn't even reacting to anything, despite the fact that he was being dragged along the ground by the back of his shirt. His head was hung low, his chin against his chest and his body limp as a ragdoll's as Xaldin tugged him cruelly. Just the sight itself caused Xemnas to let out a low chuckle, allowing himself the first taste of satisfaction at what he had accomplished.

He'd finally gotten the upper hand on the brat.

There was silence for quite some time. He waited for her to break it, and break it she did. Her voice was soft, and almost cautious. "What do you want?" She refused to look at him, for now; her attention was solely on the image. Not just the image— her eyes were zeroed in on Sora. Her eyes were practically gleaming with hunger. Xemnas let her hang for a moment. He was just as focused on the young boy. Neither of them were even blinking, hardly; they were staring at Sora and taking in every single detail. Though the colors were mismatched and muted in the spell, the blood that was dripping off of him was more than clear. No matter the jostle they had, he didn't even bat an eye. He may as well have been dead. He was burned and badly cut. The sight was garish and gory in more ways than one.

And yet there was nothing but sadistic elation on Xemnas' face. "You can have your revenge on him," he said, not mistaking the witch stiffen once again with interest. She didn't interrupt this time. This time, she was all ears. The longer the scene played out, the more pleased he was becoming. Seeing all the pieces fall into place. "Once I am through with him, you can have all of the vengeance you want. Do whatever you like with him…I couldn't care less of his fate."

"And what do I have to do for  _you_?" She asked this quietly, guardedly. Still not looking at him.

Xemnas just chuckled. "The one thing  _I_  can't," he answered.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

The Heartless were vanishing; it was apparent to each and every person that was fighting for Hollow Bastian. It was a subtle change at first, but then the tables turned, and the Heartless were the ones retreating. Not only retreating…they were vanishing in a black puff before you could even  _try_  to attack them. It was like water draining from a faucet, slipping away from you until finally, you turned the water off and stopped the flow altogether. Somebody had turned the spout off, the Heartless weren't sending in reinforcements anymore, and there weren't any remaining. The place was a barren gully now, nothing except those who were surveying the area, perplexed on the sudden change as, seemingly all at once, the Heartless took their leave out of nowhere.

But Yuffie didn't feel a single scrap of pride or relief over the apparent success. Instead, she stayed jittery, nervous, confused. Her heart stayed pounding against her chest, and her hands stayed shaking. Ever since they had rushed after Sora's cry only to find the clearing completely empty, she had been battling against the panic and worry that was brewing in the pit of her stomach. She was so concerned and confused, that her fighting skills eventually got to match Aerith's, no offense to her friend. She'd tried to blame it on her injury, but she was smarter than that. Fighting at least helped her  _maybe_ think about something else. But now that it was over, and now that she was standing there looking out across the now-empty landscape, there was nothing keeping her from questioning where her friend was. What had made him screech. Why he had left so suddenly, and whether or not he even  _had._

She was getting her breath, now. Looking out to not only take in the fact that all the enemies were gone, but also trying to see whether or not she could spot a familiar shape anywhere. She would take  _anything,_ if she could just see a glimpse of her friend. She was coming up with nothing, though. Disappointment and furthered fear were sinking claws into her again. It had been silent up to now, but that silence was broken with a sudden set of footsteps coming up behind her. Immediately she perked, an exited smile spreading over her face when she turned to see who it was. But the grin died immediately, when she found herself facing Leon. Not Sora. "Oh…" She couldn't help but let the word slip out of her mouth. It was deflated, and crestfallen.

Thankfully, Leon didn't ask. He understood. He was trying to hide it a little more than she was, but she could see all her emotions staring right back at her. She turned away from Leon and looked out over the ridge again. Her throat felt hot. From somewhere out there, she heard cheering. Normally she would be doing the same thing. But now, her heart just felt heavy, as she connected that sound to the gut-wrenching scream they'd heard from Sora. She looked towards the yell to see whether or not Sora was near the celebration, but it had come from the three fairies that Sora had enlisted help from. He wasn't anywhere to be seen.

The bad feeling in her stomach was just left to get worse and worse. Her hands were clasping in front of her— her insides were turning. Her shoulders were hunching. When she spoke again, her voice was soft and filled with trepidation. "…I don't know what we're going to tell everybody," she whispered out. Aerith had gone up to stand beside her. Her green eyes were just as troubled when she glanced at her. The words had come out empty, and hollow. Like her hope for her friend was already becoming.

Leon didn't answer. It was only for a few seconds, but it felt like a year and a half, of the three of them just standing there. Like they were too scared to actually address the question. But eventually, Leon shook his head and locked his jaw back. His eyes flashed. That ghost of concern was staying in the far back of his gaze. But his voice was bracing when he declared: "You won't have to tell them anything." Yuffie wilted when she glanced at him. "Because when we regroup back at Merlin's house, Sora, Donald, and Goofy, will all be there waiting for us." Despite everything, he sounded pretty confident. Like he knew this for a fact. "It was probably nothing, Yuffie. He was gone before we got there; he probably handled whatever situation he was in, and moved on ahead. You know how he is— he's a tough kid. Ever since we met him, he's been tough."

She crossed her arms. Her shoulders stayed hunched. There was a certain amount of pain on her face; he could tell she wanted nothing more than to believe him, but worry and logic were tugging her in a different direction. When her eyes flickered over to him, they were still guarded, and skeptical. "…Maybe," she conceded after a pause. Her voice was more than slightly reluctant. It wasn't much, but it was all she was going to say, it seemed. She quieted, after, her expression clouding as she just went back to looking ahead. Leon was wearing a frown.

Aerith was watching the two carefully. She wore her own anxiousness on her sleeve. However, after a heartbeat, she took in a deeper breath and redirected the conversation. She skipped over the fear they were all sharing and just asked instead: "Don't you think it's a little odd that all the Heartless disappeared together?" she asked. The pair perked and looked over at her. Yuffie's eyes flashed again. She shifted her weight from foot to foot and let her arms swing back down. She tilted her head to the side, but didn't offer any response. "It wasn't like we killed them off, they just…left…on their own accord," Aerith went on. "I've never seen anything like it. They've never done anything like that before…have they?"

Leon seemed even more troubled with the question. His frown worsened. "No…" he murmured. Yuffie looked between them, her eyes narrowing just a little. "I don't think they've ever done anything like that." Leon was oblivious. "Why have such a formidable army…and then just… _leave_ like that? What was the point of… _all_ of that? Why go to all the trouble just to—?"

"Does it matter?" Yuffie interjected. Her voice was harsh and biting. Aerith ducked her head and winced a little. Leon stayed thoughtful for a few moments, but when he looked at her and saw the expression on her face, he started to wilt with guilt. She was glaring at the two of them, irritated and impatient. "All that matters is they're  _gone_. Who cares  _why_ they left? At least our home isn't on the precipice of disaster anymore." She hardly gave any of the others a chance to reply before she shook her head and pointed down the ridge. "That doesn't  _matter_ ," she pressed. "What  _matters_ is finding Sora. So let's get back to Merlin's!"

Aerith was wary, as she looked at her friend. "You need to be careful on your ankle, Yuffie," she cautioned. "You could hurt yourself more, or even—"

"So help me walk, then." The response was quick, and it was curt. Even before she was finished snapping back the quip, she was turning and heading down the rocky path. She was limping even heavily she had been limping before. Whether that was because she was making the injury even worse, or whether that was because she was just getting more tired, she wasn't sure. But she dashed forward at once and took her up on the offer. Once again, she looped her arm around her neck and supported her. Leon watched the pair as they started back the way they'd come.

He started to follow. But before he could, he took one more second to hesitate, and look back to where Yuffie had been staring. He scanned the ground far below, trying to see whether or not there was any movement at all. His stomach tugged, when he saw that there wasn't. His shoulders went slacker. Apprehension pulled his eyebrows closer, for just that brief couple of seconds.

But, gritting his teeth and exhaling sharply, Leon shook his head and tore his gaze back to the two, who were farther down the hill than he'd expected them to get. He yanked his thoughts back to where they belonged. Told himself to listen to his own advice, because he was right. Sora was smarter than half the people inside of Hollow Bastian…when he  _wanted_  to be. He'd gotten himself out of plenty of tight situations before, and he'd done it with  _ease._ Heck, the kid had defeated Maleficent once already, and he was now working to do it all over again for a second time.

Sora was tough. He was capable, and smart.

He didn't come this far to lose to a few Heartless.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

The second Yuffie reached Merlin's house, she was bursting through the door. There was a chorus of greetings from the others when she did. The entire house was filled with grins and celebrations— she just met their calls with an absent smile. The other two filed in behind her and did exactly as she did when she came inside: they were looking around at everyone that was inside. Searching for Sora, who would likely be at the forefront of the party and firing off about three confetti canons. But their smile wavered when they were just disappointed again. He wasn't there.

"Can you believe we won?" Cid demanded. Yuffie said nothing, her shoulders slacking. Apparently, he didn't notice the disheartened look that was coming over her face. "Those Heartless were turnin' tail when they got a taste of us!" There was a small pixilated image of balloons and confetti making their slow way up the computer screen he was sitting in front of. The three fairy sisters Sora had enlisted were floating in the corner, but by the looks of it they were planning on taking their leave now that they had won. Merlin was busying himself at the table, trying to clear it of the horrible clutter that was always taking up the space. She wondered why he didn't just wave his wand and solve the issue that way. He had a hoarding problem.

Yuffie didn't respond, but someone else did. "It was a piece of cake!" they cried.

"Those Heartless won't be showing up here for a while!" came an agreement.

Aerith and Leon were hovering behind Yuffie. The three were standing as if they were strangers staring at a party where they didn't know a single person there. Yuffie was letting her nerves show the most, but Aerith was quickly becoming just as strained. Leon was the only one that was still in check, but he was picking through the group of friends just as intently as the other two were. His hand was clenching at his side— it was enough of a hint to betray the fact his nerves were fraying.

She glanced back at Leon, who was more behind her, and opened her mouth to try and whisper out a question of what they were supposed to do, or what he thought now that her fears were confirmed and their friend wasn't here like he said he would be. But before she could, a voice cut her off. "Yuffie." She perked and turned, realizing that Merlin had stepped away from the others and veered over to her instead. Her nervousness only grew when she realized he looked a little worried himself, over something. He was looking at her carefully…looking at  _all_ of them carefully, once he realized the tension that was locking the group in place.

For a second, Yuffie dared to hope that maybe  _he_ would know where Sora was. But the hope, stupid in the first place, was stomped immediately when he started to speak. "I was wondering if you had any idea as to where Sora is." Yuffie stiffened. They all did. Her eyes widened and she felt her stomach fall out from underneath her. It was then that she realized Goofy and Donald were standing in the far corner of the room. In contrast to usual, they were so subdued and quiet that she hadn't noticed them at all. They were just standing there, like they were confused. There was a tiny gap between them were Sora was, usually. Her eyes stuck, there. "Goofy and Donald came back alone; they have no idea where he's gone. He never met back up with them. I thought he might have been with you all."

Her mouth was dry. She said nothing. Her chest was getting tighter, and her hands were clenching together in front of her. Merlin was registering all of these details, and his concern was just mounting. Still, though, he glanced behind her, towards the door they had just closed again. "Is he out making sure all the Heartless have gone?" Yuffie's heart tore. It would be  _just_ like Sora to put off celebrating until he was absolutely sure their world was safe. He would go through the entire world, just to be sure, and even then, he would still hesitate.

She hoped that was what he was doing.  _Please_ let that be what he was doing…

Yuffie still couldn't say anything. She was still staring over at Donald and Goofy. Donald was the first to realize she was looking at them, and she grimaced when she saw hope flash through his eyes, like he was thinking the same thing Merlin was. That she might know where their friend had gone. When Goofy looked at her, too, the expression on his face was the same. They were both asking her about a million different questions, that, really, all just boiled down to one simple one.  _Where was Sora?_

She couldn't keep looking at them. She looked away, down at her feet. She shook her head, shrugged one shoulder and murmured softly: "I have no idea where he is." Her voice was hollow. The house was filled with talking and laughter before now, and yet suddenly, there was the perfect lull in conversation for this  _one_ moment, for her voice to be heard when she added: "We heard him scream for help." Immediately, there was absolute silence. She looked up to see everyone's eyes on her. Donald and Goofy looked shocked. Leon was closing his eyes and ducking his head. She felt her stomach twist. But ended, much softer: "We ran to him, but…by the time we got there…he was gone."

As the words sank in, they seemed to hang in the air. Everyone's face was completely blank, but at the same time they were all beginning to take after the expression the trio had on their way in. Scared, confused…everything in between. She was burning underneath everyone's stare— being suffocated under the weight of them all. Again, she couldn't hold the stares; she looked down at her feet. Nobody spoke. She tried to keep going, but she wasn't sure what to say. "Sora's… _gone_." The words fell like rocks from her mouth. She felt the tension multiply, with just those two words. "We thought he might be here. But…" The house was so silent, if you dropped a pin, it would probably sound like a bomb. Goofy and Donald were falling into panic the fastest. Their eyes were going wide with horror. That just got worse when she shook her head and offered weakly: "We're just as confused as you are."

Yuffie had never experienced a moment of silence like this. It seemed be alive and repressive, stretching on for hours yet only a few heartbeats in total. It pushed down on everybody's shoulders, it pressured each and every person in the room. She couldn't look at anyone still, but she felt that they were still looking at her, as if she had some kind of answer, and if they just stared long enough, she would finally fess up. Suddenly, her chest was getting even tighter. She was wondering whether or not they would ask her more details. Ask her questions that would lead to her admitting that the reason Sora was alone in the first place was because she'd left him. Ask her why it took so long to get to him, and if they could have saved him if they'd just been a  _little_  bit faster.

But before any of that could happen, Leon was finally speaking. "Now listen up." His words were flat, and forceful. "We're not going to panic. Because this isn't going to be a problem. We're going to go out in search parties, and we're going to  _find_  Sora. It won't be that hard; you can feel his ego twenty yards away." Obviously, it was meant as a means of lightening the mood. Maybe only halfway— the other half was genuinely serious. However, nobody even cracked a smile. They were just confused, and worried. Leon shook his head. "He has to be around here  _somewhere_ , nobody would have the guts to try and mess with him. He's  _smart_. Even if they  _did,_ he can twist himself out of any kind of knot, and he has before."

Yuffie wasn't wasting a single second more. "I want to go out first," she declared.

He shook his head; she glared at him immediately. He wasn't deterred by her scowl. "Not you. You have to get your leg looked at before it gets any worse." He turned to go back to addressing the others. "I can lead one of the parties— the other one can be led by—"

Her scowl was staying put. She rounded on him, flaring. "I'm. Going.  _First_ ," she insisted. Leon was a little taken aback at first. When he recovered from the sudden snap back, he looked like he was going to argue more. She wasn't going to let him have the chance. She just looked back front and raised her voice a little more. "Whoever wants to come with me, we can start down at the Bailey!" The rest seemed doubtful. Aerith looked like she wanted to fight her friend down from going instead. But nobody voiced any more argument. Which was good. They didn't have any more time to waste. Who knew what could have already happened in the meantime.

So she swept on, anxious to actually get back out there and find him. At this point, she wouldn't even be mad if she found him just sitting in the town square talking with random strangers like he had the tendency to. Well, that's probably not true; she would probably be angry at him. Probably smack the back of his head. But she would be so relieved, too. It hadn't even been very long, but with the context of the situation, she was out of her mind with worry. "Half of you go with Leon, and the other half with me."

There was a little bit of a gap as everyone decided where they wanted to go. Donald and Goofy split up, so both of them could be in one search party. Donald went with her, and so did Cid. Aerith decided to stay at her side, too; it was probably because of the fact she wanted to keep as much of an eye on her ankle as possible. But she wasn't nagging her to stay back, so Yuffie would take it. "Alright, this'll be good." Her voice was still a little deflated— it took away some of the optimism it was supposed to have. But she started for the door anyway. "We don't really have that much of a lead, but…I'm thinking that the best place to start looking would be-"

"Yuffie." She stopped, again. She made a face when she recognized Leon's voice again, and turned to see him hesitating at the threshold of the door. Even though she turned and looked at him, he was silent, looking at her expectantly. Yuffie let out a small huff and looked back at her party, quietly telling them to head on outside. Leon must have done the same to his, because pretty soon they were alone in the house. She stared at him, raising her eyebrows. He stared at her for a long heartbeat, before he started. Very hesitantly, and very slowly. "You know that…this wasn't your fault," he hedged. Yuffie jerked back, like she was slapped across the face. His eyes flashed, but he didn't let up. "You didn't cause this to happen. You know that right?"

She was too stricken to speak, initially. She just stared at him with her heart in her throat. Some part of her wanted to yell at him. To tell him to mind his own business, to stop thinking he knew everything. But the other part of her was just slammed with sorrow. She wondered how she could be so transparent. She thought of snapping at him that he had no idea what he was talking about, or try and brush him off. But she found herself giving in instead. Almost before she knew what she was going to say, she was mumbling: "But I  _did."_

Leon started to object, but she wouldn't have it. " _I_  was the one who left him alone," she reminded dully. "I should have stayed with him.  _I_  left him, and now he's gone. If we don't find him…if something happened to him…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought. She realized her eyes were starting to burn. That, and Leon was staring at her with open concern, not. She locked her jaw back, turning and glaring off to the side. "This search party  _has_  to work," she whispered. "We have to find him.  _Okay_. Otherwise…" She shook her head, feeling her heart tear even more. Every time she thought it was through hurting, there was just another harsh stabbing pain. Pain that was clear in her voice when she finished weakly: "Otherwise I'll never forgive myself."


	3. Chapter 3

Senses returned bit by difficult bit. Through the fuzziness and fog that clung to his mind, the pain came to Sora first. The acute burning in every inch of him took his breath away. His chest was constricting, the countless burns that had been inflicted by the lasers pulling and twitching agonizingly at his skin. His breaths were weak and shallow, but when he started to become more aware, they started to spike with panic. Every movement, no matter how subtle, was torture. He started to cringe. Dragging his head, which was swimming and throbbing, he ducked low and pressed his forehead more into the ground. He gritted his teeth against the pain, felt tears sting his eyes.

The more aware he grew, the worse it got. The more he twitched and groaned. Gritting his teeth together in the attempt to hold back the shouts and yells that were clamoring to get out of his mouth, he had to figure out how to breathe through it all instead. And he stayed like for quite some time, just gasping and choking and flinching, which wasn't nearly enough. The pain was all that he could think about, initially. His mind was struggling to keep into gear and actually work. It was scrambling for any kind of intelligence whatsoever. Something he could use. He couldn't get all that far…he couldn't really  _grab onto_ anything. For right now, all he knew was that something was wrong. Something had gone wrong, and he had to get up— he couldn't stay here on the ground.

He forced his burning arms into motion. With any motion, his skin and the many injuries littered there pulled and protested, making it all even worse and making him gag on the sheer agony. He wanted nothing more than to drop down and just stay still until it all went away. But he knew he didn't have that option. He wormed his hands underneath his chest, shaking as he forced himself into a crouched position on all fours. He pried his eyes open but regretted it immediately, and closed them again. It was bright. Just  _trying_  to open his eyes against the darkness that had clouded him, caused pain to split through his head, which was now crusted over with blood from the wound splitting his forehead.

Cursing and holding back a whimper, Sora reached up with one arm to rub at his eyes. His other was left to support his drooping body as best he could. When it paid off and he could open them a little more, he could only manage a small squint, cracked against the glare that the room seemed to give off. And as he stayed crouching on the ground, he realized why it was so difficult. He was in a room that was completely white. The shade was  _blinding_. It  _hurt_ to look at. Especially now, when his head was already ringing.

Everything was spinning; his stomach was in knots. His brain was still struggling and fighting to work again. He tried to stand. But the effort immediately went out the window and he had to practically fall back down, sobbing out when he did. He just gave up and sagged against the wall, trying to suck in deeper breaths. He dragged his head up and, blinking a couple times to clear his vision of the spots of black that were still lingering, he at least try to get a lay of the surroundings anyway. But there wasn't much to see. There wasn't anything in the room other than him. There weren't even any windows in it. It was just white. And  _small._ His face creased over with confusion. He tried to kick his mind into gear. He had to struggle to put together pieces and logic and remember what had happened before this.

It came back to him just as slowly as consciousness itself, had. But eventually it started to dawn. He had been in Hollow Bastian…right?  _Yes_! He'd been fighting…trying to get back to Mickey and Donald. He'd been fighting with Leon, but…but then Leon went to go help Aerith and Yuffie instead. He'd been alone, and it had been fine, but then…then— He froze. He went rigid, his eyes went wide. The Organization. The attack. He looked back up at the room. He remembered fighting, but…but he'd…lost. He'd  _lost._ Now…now where  _was_ he?

His breaths were beginning to escalate. He started to panic— he could feel it sting and burn under his skin and threatening to swallow him up. He was trying to stave it off. But it did one good thing for him: it gave him the fear and therefore the energy he needed to stand. He was shaky, and it  _hurt._ It took everything in him not to let his knees buckle and fall right back down. He had to keep his hand on the wall, to keep him from doing just that. He had to lean practically all his body weight on the wall. And he could only take tiny, stumbling steps. The effort was already making him shake. But his eyes were fixed on the only other  _anything_ in this room, which was the faintest outline of a door on the other side.

It took effort and time, but he got there. He was out of breath by the time he did; he leaned against the wall and gasped, his hands trembling as they reached out and tried the knob with vain hope on his face. But his optimism was in vain. Disappointment as bitter as bile rose up in the back of his throat, as it just… _refused_ to open. Yanking on it as hard as he could, it still didn't budge. He was locked in. He swallowed hard and stared at the exit dismally, feeling his chest constrict even more. For a second, he was succumbing to that panic again. This time, he almost buckled underneath it. But he stopped himself. He scowled instead, and leaned more into his anger. He closed his eyes tight, before he sucked in a breath and let out a scream. He raised his arms and ignored the pain it caused when he started to bring them down and beat against the door as hard as he could.

_"Hey!"_  His scream grated against his throat. It was torturous, but he refused to stop slamming against the one thing that was standing between him and freedom. He had no idea where he was. He had no idea what had happened after he'd called out for Leon. He had to get out and try to sort out the events to connect what had gone on between Hollow Bastion and wherever this place was.  _"Open the door! Let me out of here, you….you…!"_  He was so blank with all his emotions that he couldn't even figure out a good insult. He was so desperate, he started to try and kick the door down, but as soon as he did, he realized that it was a mistake.

The second he raised one leg, pain like fire wrapped around his other one, a tight vice around his ankle. It couldn't hold the weight that was forced onto it, and it buckled underneath him. He slammed against the ground with contact so painful that it made his vision go black for a few seconds. He was back to choking and gasping. He had to wait for a very long time for it so subside enough for him to actually think and breath again. When he did, stubbornly, Sora began to force himself up again for the millionth time, biting down on all his screaming. He stopped in a crouching position to catch his breath. He twisted around to look at the leg that had buckled. He flinched. It was covered in blood. The wound was gaping and painful just to look at— now he knew why it had been so difficult for him to simply get over here in the first place.

So suddenly his two greatest enemies were a door and his own leg. He bit down hard on the pain he knew would come, but this time was wise enough to be able to lean more on his other foot to support most of himself. If nobody was going to come at the sound of his yelling and banging, and the door wouldn't open by itself, the only option that was left was to break it down. He narrowed and his eyes and summoned his keyblade, the weapon flashing into being and fitting into his hand with expert deftness. He sucked in a deep breath and ignored the discomfort that swinging his arms brought as he started to strike out against the exit. He rained blow after blow, putting as much effort behind each strike as possible, given his state at the moment.

He kept trying, over and over and over again. He hit harder, he hit faster, he pushed himself to his limit. But nothing at all was happening. The door wasn't even dinged, or scratched. Sora's eyes rounded out in hollow confusion as he reluctantly sagged, giving himself a break and letting his arm swing back to his side. His limbs felt like lead after all the effort he put behind every blow— how was there  _nothing_ even  _remotely_ different? His keyblade had struck down more enemies than he could even count. And now, going toe-to-toe with a  _door,_ it was failing? "No way…" Despair laid thick over the whisper as he looked at it in shock. His words bounced off the walls of the tiny, silent room. They seemed too big for the small space.

He abandoned that effort. He was getting  _nowhere,_ and he knew wasting his energy on something he knew wouldn't budge wasn't smart. He had to find something else. But…there  _wasn't_ anything else. His heart was starting to hammer. Suddenly he started to fell claustrophobic. There were no windows, not a crack in the wall…nothing he could use to try and find another route out. "This doesn't make sense," Sora whispered underneath his breath, looking lost and confused. "Maybe—" Sora had started to think out loud, simply out of force of habit. However his words, as well as his train of thought, was broken in half abruptly as there was a soft, barely noticeable sound behind him. He turned with wide blue eyes as he saw that the door was slowly being opened.

When it did, Sora stumbled in order to turn around. He knew the figure standing in the doorway; thankfully, his mind was back in its entirety, and it took less than a second for it to register. The scowl was immediately crawling over his face the second he saw the familiar face of Xaldin. Black cloak and all. "…You." His voice was nothing more than a low growl that grated out between his teeth. He was already seeing red, but his anger only flared hotter when, the moment Xaldin's eyes landed on him, he smirked. He looked like there was nothing that would have made him happier than to see him as he was right this moment. Sora gripped his keyblade tighter, and took a step closer. Under Xaldin's stare, he was acutely aware of the fact that he was limping. But he still glowered up at him dangerously. "Let me  _go_ ," he continued in his low snarl. "Or I  _promise_  that I will make you regret it."

The other only snickered. Like Sora had told a joke he found hilarious. "You're hardly in the position to be making any shots, kid." He was smug. Overly so. And Sora scowled when he felt him look him up and down, taking in every injury as he did. There were a lot— Sora would be the first person to admit this, considering he was nearly swaying on his feet just from the strain of balancing. His entire body was screaming in pain, though most of it was centered in his head and his leg. Still, he stumbled a step forward. It was meant to be a threatening step, but it was lackluster. It just made him laugh again. "I knew you were dull, but I would have figured you'd already figured out your new place."

"I don't have a 'new place,'" Sora growled immediately. "And even if I  _did_ , it wouldn't be below the likes of yours. I'll say it one more time: let me go.  _Now_." Xaldin still just kept looking at him like he was a kid saying something completely stupid. It was making Sora more and more blind with anger by the second. He was holding his keyblade tighter, he was gritting his teeth harder. He was  _angry._ He was cornered and fenced…ganged up on. He hadn't stood a single chance. He didn't know where he was, but he knew that he had been taken there against his will, after he was knocked unconscious. He was stuck in a small room, and now he was being sneered at and told he had a 'new place.' His hands were starting to shake. He was barely holding himself back from flying at him.

Xaldin took a few steps into the room, closer to him. He looked down on him and leaned a little more down to his height. "I'll spell it out for you, real easy," he offered. Even the  _tone of his voice_ was demeaning. "Here's the deal, kid." Sora scowled even more, at this. "There's no way out of here. You're nowhere  _near_ any kind of help. Nobody  _knows_ you're here." Sora was practically digging his fingernails into his keyblade by this point. He started to duck his head. "You're  _trapped_ — there's  _no_ way of getting out. So I'd suggest you put that little key away, and you—" He didn't finish. He didn't even come close to finishing.

Because suddenly, Sora let out an angered yell, shoving the pain out of his mind as he forced weight to be distributed evenly on both legs. He ran towards him, swinging his keyblade back behind him. With all his wounds, he wasn't nearly as fast as he used to be. But maybe Xaldin had been relying on that too much, because he didn't have the time to retaliate against him. It was all the upper hand Sora needed. Eyes narrowed into slits, Sora whipped his arms back around, swinging so that his blade made hard contact with the other's stomach.

Immediately, he hunched over, all the breath being knocked out of him at once. But Sora didn't have the chance to feel much success; the force of the blow itself caused pain to wrap up his  _own_ arms. He choked and staggered, losing his balance and nearly falling. He was trying to catch himself, but with his bad leg it wasn't easy. This tiny lapse was enough time for Xaldin to whirl around and grab onto his shoulders hard. Sora had to scream at the grip— it was way too hard. His fingers were digging into the burn wounds he had earned. Without thinking, he jerked back and slammed his elbow as hard as he could against Xaldin's back. He stumbled, and Sora fell back to more or less slam into his side. To effectively knock him back against the wall with enough force to cause him to let go. Or at least…let go enough for Sora to yank himself out of his grip.

He was left gasping. He was using more energy than he had had in the first place. But he pushed on, knowing that the move was weak, and Xaldin was going to recover in the blink of an eye. The pure potency of his fear was enough to get keep him moving. That, and the thrill that he had at least made it out of the room. He still had no idea where he was, but he found himself in a hallway that branched off— one to the left and the other to the right. He didn't have time to try and pick one. Xaldin was already turning for him. He tore down the right hall and started to break into a stumbling run. But not before he whirled back around and snapped out a spell, freezing Xaldin's hand to the wall and sticking him there.

It was a mistake. It was effective— it kept him in place. But Sora had no strength at all in the first place. Using this magic yanked away a good portion of what all he had left. He staggered and groaned as his head spun. His legs were Jell-O, his arms lead. The second bad thing: Xaldin let out a scream of rage. One that was  _loud._ And Sora wasn't sure where the other members of the Organization were, but if this was their headquarters or something, he figured such a yell would get attention. He had to go. So he picked right at random.

He had to lean against the wall again, and basically run against it. He was running fairly fast for someone in his condition, but it wasn't done without a large amount of suffering. Every step with his injured leg elicited another whimper, another choke. He was positive that he was only making the injury worse by walking on it. But he was  _also_ positive there was no time for loitering. He did his best not to fall and keep his balance, but to keep moving as fast as possible, too. Keeping moving, he just had to keep moving…he had to get out of here. Find the exit. But that was hard to do when he had  _no_ idea where he was. Looking around it initially, the place just seemed  _huge_. He could get lost. He could get cornered.

As it was, he could hardly see more than a foot in front of him. His head was pounding and his vision was going in and out. He was struggling to walk faster, but he was staggering and limping. The more he walked, the harder it got, and the less able his legs were to continue supporting his weight. He was halfway keeled over when he finally broke out of the seemingly-never-ending hallway, and stopped short when he reached stairs. He blinked fast to try and clear his head. He had to narrow his eyes to get it all focused and making sense. The stairs were just as never-ending as the halls were. He couldn't even see the bottom of them, and he was pretty sure that was thank to the height, not  _just_ because of the fact he was ten seconds from passing out.

Every breath was a gasp, now. He was burning from head to toe. For a second he just stood there, sagged mostly against the wall and jus staring at the staircase with open despair. He was struggling to get himself  _persuaded_ enough to actually dare going down them. He was almost ready to take in a deep breath and start, when all of a sudden, he realized he could hear footsteps. A  _lot_ of footsteps, thundering towards him, and accompanied with yelling.  _Angry_ yelling. His eyes flew wide when he registered the fact; his head whipped over his shoulder as they flooded with fear. Sure enough, he could see them running towards him. Or, all he saw was their cloaks. He didn't actually see who it was. But that was all he  _needed_ to see.

He whirled back and threw out his hand to grab tight hold of the railing. He was blinded with the sudden urgency to leave. He was so overcome with panic, he resorted to just throwing himself forward as hard as he could. He would take  _falling_ down the stairs, if it just meant he would be able to away from them. He almost did. He staggered and his bad foot started to twist and give out, just because it couldn't move the way he was trying to get it too. He felt himself start to buckle forward. He braced himself for the awful pain, but it didn't come. Instead, he felt someone grab the back of his collar, and he felt himself being yanked back harshly, with more force than was needed.

He cried out. Pain blinded him, but despite that, Sora immediately started to trash and force himself to try and get away. He had no idea who was pulling him back, or who was wrapping their arms around his chest and trying to pin his arms against his sides. He tried to wiggle, to slip away, to jerk back and elbow whoever it was who was trying to render him helpless. He was dangerously close to helpless…but he was trying his best to get away from that line. "Get off of me!" He was screeching, as he kicked and tugged. "Let me go! Get  _off_!" They weren't listening. Other hands started to go in and help, when he kept fighting. Whoever had grabbed him around the chest let him go, but immediately after, someone was grabbing his left arm hard. Someone else took his right. They were both practically digging their fingers into his skin, and all the wounds there. His screaming turned more desperate, and pained. They started yanking him back the way he'd come.

" _Get off me, get off! Let me go!"_  He realized Axel was holding one of his arms. Luxord was holding onto his other one. They were ignoring him; they just kept yanking. He had no choice but to stumble and try to keep up. Looking up as they got closer to the room he'd left, Sora's rage flared when his eyes met Xaldin's. He'd gotten out of the ice trap. Now, he was just standing in front of the door, waiting. He still looked angry, but there was an infuriating hint of a smirk on his face as he watched Sora struggle. There was one upside to it, at least…it got Sora mad enough to find more energy. He was trying to dig his heels into the ground despite the agony it caused.

They were practically dragging him, by this point. His fighting was so wild, that he wasn't even really walking anymore. They were mostly holding him up in midair, just to keep him moving. His glower grew more enraged the closer he was brought to Xaldin. He kept screaming and spitting.  _"Stop! Let me go! Let go of me!"_ They finally got back to the place Sora had been held in when he'd woken up. He glowered up at Xaldin once they stopped.  _"Let me go, you stupid, idiotic, evil—"_ Before he could finish whatever insult was building up on his tongue, he was cut off abruptly. Without a single hint of warning.

Xaldin had lashed out and delivered a harsh punch directly to the middle of his stomach. The second he did, all of Sora's breath was lost. All the strength that was still remaining in his legs gave out, and he sagged, the other two Organization members holding him by the arms now as he went slack and hung his head. He was completely still. His eyes were huge as he just stared at the floor and struggled to  _breathe._ He couldn't force in the smallest of breaths. He just choked, weak and in clouded in pain. He folded in on himself. If he wasn't being grabbed, he would have collapsed and likely not gotten back up this time. Xaldin was wearing a disgusting kind of smile as he looked at him. His voice was gruff when he growled out: "We should put him in the room already."

Sora couldn't even look up to see who replied. "Xemnas wanted to wait." He couldn't even think enough to try and match their voice to their face. But they sounded irritated, and firm. Clearly, the reply wasn't all that Xaldin was looking forward to. Just as much irritation splayed itself over his face. But the other was firm. "We should just put him back. It was stupid of you to even try and go in there in the  _first_  place, Xaldin. You  _know_ he told us not to act until he came back."

But someone else – the other person that holding him, near his  _other_ ear – argued in favor of Xaldin. "He's going to do it anyway," he said. "Why not get a head start on things? Besides— he needs to know the consequences of what happens when he doesn't  _listen_." The way this was said, it was like Sora was a dog in need of training. He started to struggle up to his feet; he was starting to get his breath back, even though it was only feeble wheezes at first. Nobody cared; they just kept talking. "If nobody else is going to do it, I will," the voice continued, sounding almost eager at the idea.

There was a burst of quiet. Not even the other voice – the one that had seemed almost like he was trying to defend him from whatever this was – interjected. Sora was begging himself mentally to just recover enough to  _speak_. He was close to managing it. He was slowly starting to breathe again in a way that was stopping the burning in his lungs. The second he was starting to right himself completely, though, he was being tugged again. He tried to fight and stay in one place, but the agony it took to fix his ankle solidly was too much. He was beginning to be carted all over again. He was still dizzy from the brief lack of oxygen, so all he could do was stumble numbly. He couldn't even  _try_ to yank himself away, like before.

His feet were practically dragging across the floor. He was staggering and stumbling. He was choking on every other step, every other tug on his arm. They were taking him in another direction, this time. He had no idea where they were going, just like he had no idea where he'd been heading before. Given that he couldn't fight physically, anymore, he resorted back to being verbal. His voice was much raspier after the hit to his stomach. He was trying to put force behind it, but it was a pretty weak effort. "Let me go!" he gasped again, feeling like a broken record. Nobody ever replied, but he kept going. "You better…you better let me go, or I'm…gonna make you regret it."

Axel wasn't looking at him; he was glaring straight ahead. But, under his breath, Sora heard him grumble: "Too late; I  _already_  regret doing this."

He didn't really appreciate the humor. He scowled, facing back front and stilling for a moment, cutting his thrashing short as he went limper. As expected, the two held onto him with a little less harshness. The second he sensed the slight let-up, he was summoning his keyblade, that scowl staying fixed on his face. The second it appeared in its flash, he was spinning it around in his hand, aiming it down and back and immediately ramming it as hard as he could into Luxord's ankle. It wasn't  _nearly_ as hard a hit as Sora wanted it to be. But his target was immediately yelling in pain. He let go of Sora even more, and this time it was almost enough for him to be able to break away and try to run again.

But as soon as he started to, Luxord was lashing out and grabbing his arm again. His fingers dug  _hard_ into his skin; the grip alone was enough for Sora to gasp out in pain. But he just cried out more when he was wrenched around, ripped out of Axel's hold, even. He barely had the time – or energy, for that matter – to stumble enough to keep his balance before a hard contact was ramming into the side of his head. "You  _brat!"_ The second Luxord snapped this, he was smacking Sora across the face as hard as he could manage. Which, unsurprisingly, was  _hard._

The second he delivered the blow, Sora's mind went completely blank with pain. It was scattered, and he found that he couldn't fight at all to stay standing. He collapsed, and when he hit the ground he stayed there, flinching horribly and just trying to breathe through the pain. Trying to breathe through  _all_ of it. That included not only all the pain from his  _other_ injuries, but the panic and fear and frustration and all the other emotions that were pressing on his lungs, or choking around his throat. It had already been hard enough, but the longer he couldn't fight back, the worse it was getting. By now, he was shaking. Trembling uncontrollably, and just getting worse. Hiding the fact was just as impossible as fighting back was. His keyblade disappeared, with the blankness that came from the strike.

He couldn't get up by himself. Axel had to stoop down and pick him up. When he did, Sora stumbled; his legs were still rubber, and he couldn't quite figure out how to get them to work, again. His expression was hazy and distant. He was trying to focus so hard on getting his head back on his shoulders that he almost didn't hear Axel's growl. "Cut it out. How are we supposed to get anything done if you guys keep this up? If he can barely stand, how is he going to do anything else? Use your  _heads."_ He just sounded mildly inconvenienced. Sora was pretty sure he had more of a right to be annoyed, though.

Nobody said anything. Luxord was scowling at Sora but he seemed to at least listen a little. He didn't do anything more than grab his arm again and yank him back around. Again, Sora tripped over his own feet. His head was ringing and throbbing in pain, but he forced himself to lift it enough to actually see what was going on. He had to blink past a little blackness that was hazing around his vision, first. He was carted along again. This time he didn't try to fight, and he was shamefully aware of the fact. They took him down a couple more halls, until they reached a door. Sora's stomach dropped significantly when they finally came to a stop.

The other two kept their hold on him. Xigbar stepped forward and did the honors of opening it for them. Sora's anxiety only grew, when he swept it open wide. They'd fought him so much to get here— they'd  _fought_ so much, and they had seemed so eager to get him to whatever 'room' this was. What was in it— what was important about it? Why had they taken him? He couldn't take the silence, anymore. He opened his mouth and started to ask at least  _one_ of them. But he didn't get the chance to. Before he knew it, Sora was being heaved forward— he was practically lifted off the ground and shoved over the threshold of the door and into the unfamiliar room. He hit the ground again. It hurt just as much. It took him just as long to recover.

By the time he was able to push himself up enough to turn back and look, the door had been shut behind him. He was completely alone. His face fell and his shoulders hunched. There was clear apprehension on his face when, still crouched on the ground because right now he was too weak to do anything else, Sora eyed his new surroundings. His stomach twisted. Just like the last room he had woken up it, this one was completely white, and completely empty. But it was  _huge._ It seemed to go on for  _miles._  It was a million times the size of the place he had woken up in.

But he had no idea  _why_ he was there. He still had  _no_ idea what was going on. Now he was alone…so what was he supposed to do? Confusion was swamping him. He choked back a swallow and hung his head again briefly, closing his eyes tight against the pounding in it. He felt like he was going to be sick. He tried to breathe through it. Balancing a little shakily on his other, Sora lifted one hand off the ground to press it up against his forehead, where the pain was worst. When he drew back to look at it, his stomach did another flip when he saw that his palm was smeared with blood. How much had he bled already?

He shook the thought away, because it was only going to make it all worse. He just let his hand fall again, ignoring the blatant red against white and just concentrated on getting his breath back. If he could get the room to stop spinning, then maybe he'd be able to actually stand again. "What…was the  _point_ of all that?" Sora whispered to himself, his voice echoing in the expansive room. It was left to just bounce back to him. It just made it more obvious how  _alone_  he was. Suddenly, in that moment he realized he felt very small. Probably much smaller than he actually was.

Talking was pointless. But it was kind of helping calm down his nerves. He was shaking less, the more he could hear himself. So he kept whispering, very softly. He probably would have been inaudible, if not for the fact that there was literally no other noise to obscure it. "Why?" he panted, still trying to get his air back. Of course, he didn't get an answer. But at least he was asking. He braced himself for a couple of seconds, before he inhaled sharper and forced himself up to his feet. Agony contorted his face immediately. His stomach was still sore from Xaldin's punch. He had to wrap his arms around his middle to keep himself steady. It helped a little bit. But it still hurt.

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do, here. If he was just being shuffled from room to room, he really couldn't complain; this one was a heck of a lot bigger than where he was before. He'd just woken up and he was already being  _promoted,_ how great was  _that?_ He was just beginning to wonder whether or not he should just give up and sit back down, when there was movement up ahead. He jerked at the change, looking up with a noticeable jolt. Call it paranoia, call it common sense because of everything that was going on, but he was immediately put on-edge. He had to let go of his stomach to do so, but he summoned his keyblade again and gripped it tight. He scowled and watched as a small pool of black formed a few yards away from him. And his eyes flashed with anger when a Shadow crept out of its depths. It crawled along the ground, already zeroing in on him.

His first impulse was just annoyance. These things had a part in this entire situation he was stuck in now— not to mention they were just irritating in general. They were little pests; they set his  _teeth_ on edge. He didn't have the energy to do this. He just wanted to lay down and recover and figure out what the heck was going  _on_ here. Wasting time dealing with this thing was enough to set him off as it was. But the flicker of annoyance slowly snuffed itself out. Sora stilled and his eyes widened as he realized that the pool of black wasn't getting smaller; it was getting larger. More and more Heartless were crawling out of it. At first just a couple more, but then…five more…and then  _ten_.

Their numbers grew, and so did their size. His apprehension grew with along with the enemies; his stomach was twisting into about seven pretzel knots. The size of the room meant there was practically no limit on how many of these could fit inside. Or, at least, the limit was  _high._ But right then, in that moment, he didn't have the chance to stop and wonder if that was on purpose. All he had time for was getting over his shock, which took enough in itself. He breathed through the initial freeze, before he jerked his head and blinked fast a couple times. He gasped, like he was bursting out from underneath water. He didn't have any energy whatsoever. He had to conserve what little amount he had. But he still readied his weapon in his hand and narrowed his eyes in concentration. And when they started crawling near enough to him, he forced his dead arms into motion and started to swing through them.

He cleared out the first line, but with the mounting numbers, others just came to replace them. It was just like it had been in Hollow Bastion— in less than three minutes, the place was absolutely crawling with them. He fought to keep breathing, though, and stay collected. He kept fighting. Stabbing through those that were closest to him and stumbling away from others that were getting  _too_ close for comfort. He tried to keep himself together, and talk himself down.  _You're fine, you're good. These guys are easy._ He was gasping already, and forcing himself to keep moving when his body wanted nothing more than to just give out. His ankle was screeching in agony. His sides were splitting. But it wasn't like he had a choice on whether or not to give up.

_You have this,_ he kept telling himself, choking and grimacing when a Heartless landed a stinging swipe against his back and nearly knocked him straight over. He caught himself and swung back around, hitting his keyblade through it in retaliation and trying to find satisfaction in seeing it vanish. There wasn't much time to feel satisfaction, though, before he was having to duck away from another one. He whirled around and staggered, his eyes going a little wider. The Heartless were  _still_ appearing. The room had seemed so  _big_ , before, but now there didn't seem to be any space whatsoever. He couldn't even  _begin_ to count the number that was now staring back at him— he couldn't even really  _separate_ one Heartless from another, there were so many.

For a second, he was slapped with shock. He was winded, staring at the scene with abject horror. His arms went numb and slack; the sheer relief that came from finally letting them swing down to his sides was enough to tempt him to just give up and go slack altogether. He certainly almost  _did_ , just thanks to the fact his legs were gel. His mouth ran dry, his stomach fell away from him. Frustration and panic burned under his skin sinking their claws into him. For a second, he just stared at the mess and felt the distinct feeling of:  _'This is_ bad.'

It was a hurdle. But hurdles were meant to be gotten over. He shoved down his fear and leaned on his anger, instead. He didn't  _often_ lean against his anger, but doing so now would be enough to center him. To give actual  _strength_  behind his grip. "Fine," he growled. "Let's do this." It was like he was talking back to Donald and Goofy— rallying them together before some big fight as he'd done so many times before. And, as if receiving their confirmation, he forced himself to start charging forward. He knew it would hurt, he sent himself an apology for the pain he knew he'd have to suffer through. But it would be required in order to get out of this mess. Fire wrapped around his ankles. His lung strained to actually function. He struggled to ignore it. He had to  _focus._

A sea of Heartless engulfed him. Sora couldn't see anything, save for masses of the twitching, slashing, black beings. He tried to ignore the number— if he thought about it too much it would just slow him down. Instead, he focused on his swipes and dodges. He thought through every little action and battle tactic he pulled out of his hat, just in the hope that he wouldn't be able to think about anything else, if so. Gritting his teeth, Sora vaulted into the air with off of his good foot, spinning and knocking aside several Flying Soldiers that had been just about to dive at him. A shock went up his good leg when he landed on it squarely, unable to put any more weight on his other one. He hopped a few times and cried out, flinching. But he kept going. Sora lunged at every Heartless in range, watching with hope as they vanished upon impact. But the brief flash of light in his eyes always ended up dashed when they were just quickly replaced. It was a never-ending supply.

"This is so stupid, where are you all even  _coming from_?" Sora growled as he ducked and slashed, burning over the fact that he was stuck like this. They'd locked the door behind them, just like his door had been locked before. And  _why?_ Why was he  _here?_ He had plenty of whys, but not a single answer, and it was driving him  _crazy._ On the tiny, tiny upside, though— at least that irritation was enough to keep him going. "I  _swear,_ if you guys—" Something hit the back of his head and he staggered. The strike wasn't all that bad, but his head was already so wounded that just the tiny blow was pitching him forward and making his vision fuzz. He felt sick as he barely caught himself. He tried to turn and see which one had jumped at him. But there were just so many, it was impossible to tell.

While he was trying to find that enemy, another swiped past and caught him across the cheek, sharp talons tearing into his skin without any warning. He gasped and stumbled, righting himself and pressing his hand against the wound as he straightened. He could feel his palm warm over with blood. Frustration and panic was setting in harder, despite his efforts to control it. "Will you all just  _slow down!?"_ he cried out. He tried to make his voice hard, but there was still a waver to it. His stomach twisted into even more knots as he tried to slow down a little bit. He was begging himself to  _think, think, think…_ "Goofy, I need—" His words were cut short. His effort to go into Drive was stopped in its tracks. Instead of twisting, his stomach fell away completely. His eyes widened, his bad leg buckled again. He barely caught himself. He was just trying to figure out how to breathe again.

Goofy…he'd…hadn't he? Sora had to keep going, had to keep forcing himself to jump and dodge and parry and attack against the ever-increasing number of Heartless. But he struggled to get his mind to reach back to what all had happened before. His head was fuzzy, and memories were just as much so, just as disjointed. Yet he pushed his mind, struggling to remember the events that had happened before he had been attacked. It didn't take him long at all to remember, though. How could he forget? But still, it hit him just as hard as Xaldin's fist had. He felt horror, anger, resentment, sorrow, and  _guilt._ With everything going on, he hadn't thought back to it at all. His friend had slipped his mind. How  _horrible_ was that? Goofy had  _died._ He'd sacrificed himself…and Sora had  _forgotten._

Once the thought hit him, it rooted him in place. In the shock and grief of it all, he was caught off-guard. The Heartless were left the window to swarm him and attack. They all lashed at him at the same time; he was hit aside back and forth like a volleyball. Pain overwhelmed him; he knew if he kept going like this he wouldn't last long at all, and yet it took him painstaking seconds to be able to think through his agony. Planting his good foot down onto the ground, he was able to take control of his motion and managed to roll away from the mass. Once he managed to stop himself, biting down against the nausea beginning to grip him tight, Sora shoved himself back up. He turned now to the crowd of Heartless, and his eyes darkened with a suddenly-surprising amount of rage. "It's all your guys' fault." His words were mere snarls.

He remembered it, now. The way that the Heartless had tossed that stupid rock over. How Goofy had collapsed in a heap and was unresponsive even as Donald had beaten down with on his chest and yelled. How he had crawled close to his friends and begged him to open his eyes— cried that this couldn't be happening, that it wasn't true. Because of the raid against Hollow Bastion, and because of the Heartless, Goofy was dead. That renewed knowledge was enough to make his chest burn with rage— rage that only grew as he surveyed the enemies in front of him.

Sora gripped his keyblade with renewed energy. His head pulsated with pain when he did, but he still sucked in a sharp breath and screamed:  _"You'll regret it!"_  He pushed off the ground and threw himself back into the fray. Anger renewed his strength. He was a little slower than normal, and he was tripped up a little because of the fact he had to try and keep off his bad leg as much as he could. But he moved faster than before, and his strikes were harder. More unforgiving. Fury, sorrow, grief, frustration— it was all there in not only the boy's eyes but his actions as well. He should have known not to let the anger rule over his head— usually he was very controlled in what he was doing when it came to fighting. But now he was entirely cut loose; he didn't even pause before slamming his keyblade down through the Soldiers, through the Shadows, through Novashadows. He wasn't even thinking about battle strategy. He was just thinking about how much he hated the Heartless, how he wasn't about to let them get away with killing his friend, how he wanted to make them pay, despite the state he was in. That was all that mattered to him.

He had no idea how much time had passed, or how many Heartless he had killed. There wasn't much point in counting; as soon as he killed one, another replaced it. His anger and rage went far – very far, when you consider his condition – when it came to giving him energy where he had none before. But it wasn't lasting as long as the Heartless were. It leaked away bit by bit. Before too long he was trembling and staggering. His muscles were aching with strain and his keyblade felt heavier in his hands. He kept on fighting as best he could, but his breaths were coming in ragged pants, and his strikes didn't inflict nearly as much damage. Sweat poured down his head, which was only throbbing more. He had to blink more often, just to keep his vision clear enough to see what he was doing.

He wasn't making progress; he couldn't comfort himself with the idea that he was even getting anywhere. It had been a losing battle from the start with his injuries already so severe. He'd started out only with a quarter of fuel left in the tank, and now he was well past empty. How long had he even been struggling? It felt like hours, though surely it couldn't be that long? He had held his ground for the longest time. It was an accomplishment— he knew that. In technical terms, anyway. But what did the accomplishment mean if he just ended up dying anyway?

Sora tried to run at an oncoming group of Shadows, but all he could manage by now was a pitiful limp. His bad leg was no help, and he'd been relying on his good one for so long that it was beginning to cramp and seize. Sure enough, the Heartless weren't intimidated at all by his weak stagger. A Novashadow swiped out; Sora knocked it aside, but not fast enough to save it from clawing hard down his side. He cried out and whimpered as pain lanced like fire down his ribs. Another Shadow leapt on his back and pain ignited there, as well. Stumbling and fighting not to fall, Sora struggled to whip it off, but before he could a Flying Soldier swooped down and smacked hard into his head. His breaking point was dangerously close. His head couldn't take many more blows; with this one, he was going numb. He gagged in pain as his hands and his feet began to tingle; he couldn't hold himself up.

More Heartless surged forward. His leg couldn't hold up any longer. His knee buckle in, and he fell like a weight. The Heartless took the opportunity the second it presented itself. Sora started to try and fold his arms to his chest and push himself up somehow, but before he could even begin the actual effort, all of the Heartless were beelining for him. He tried to move, but suddenly too many blows were being rained down on him. Claws dug into him, hands were slammed against him, feet stomped him into the ground. The agony was too much; he was overwhelmed. He couldn't move, he couldn't even get in enough breath to scream. He just tried to stay awake, and even that was getting to be impossible.

His keyblade disappeared. Sora would have felt an unbelievable amount of panic had he not been so numb. The blackness that had been edging his vision for ages now was swarming forward just as quickly as the Heartless had. Sora had no idea what kind of injuries he had anymore. Whether any of them were lethal, whether they were dangerous. He couldn't think it through, or even try and curl in to protect himself that way. He couldn't even  _breathe_. He was scared and hurt, but in the farthest reach of his mind, Sora realized he was relaxing at the same time. He could feel himself starting to slip away. He could feel himself losing the battle to stay awake— to stay  _here._

With his last remaining thought, Sora tried to find something that would keep him out of the darkness— something that he could hang on to that would allow him to remain strong against the shadows. He thought he had something. He thought he managed it.

But he lost consciousness before he could discern what exactly it was he had decided to cling to


	4. Chapter 4

It had been ages. In the amount of time that had passed, Luxord had left, leaving only Xigbar, Xaldin, and Axel to loiter in the hall. Having lost track of how long they had been waiting around, Axel was stationed across the hall from the others, glaring over at the two in an open display of anger. This entire time, and nobody had said a word. Axel was seething, but the other two just looked pleased with themselves— a fact that was only making him  _angrier._ It took him some time to break the silence, but eventually he couldn't hold his tongue. When he did speak, every word was barbed in warning. "Xemnas is gonna have your heads." They both looked over at this. He shook his head. "You  _know_ he didn't want you to do this."

Little to no actual thought seemed to be put into the warning by either of them, which was a shame, considering Axel had gone out of his way to actually care, and in the process of this whole thing, he'd lost a couple brain cells. If he'd left with Luxord, he could have saved himself the headache. "It was Xaldin's idea," Xigbar eventually stated. Xaldin jerked a little bit, looking at him with surprise. He snapped something about being thrown under the bus— Xigbar was quick to remind him that it was true, Xaldin was quick to return that he'd been just as eager. Bickering filled the hallway, and Axel hung his head, pinching the bridge of his nose and wondering to himself what actually compelled him to get up in the morning.

"Well, I'm just saying!" he snapped, cutting them off when he'd had more than enough. "When Xemnas finds out what you guys did, I don't want to be here." He started to push off the wall, ready to take his leave. Clearly, the both of them could entertain themselves well enough without his help. Where had Luxord gone, anyway? Maybe he could track him down and entice him into a game of Poker. It wasn't really all that fun to play with him – he took it  _way_ too seriously, even if it was just Go Fish – but anything was better than this. That was just how desperate he was for some form of entertainment. Here, all the only noise was just them fighting uselessly.

At first he didn't think anything of the fact, but eventually, after a couple steps, he found himself slowing. His forehead creased, and he repeated the thought, trying to see why exactly it seemed so strange. He turned a little bit, frowning as he looked over his shoulder and actually tried to hear what else there was, underneath their arguing, which was, of course, still going on even when he'd started to leave. But that was just it: there was absolutely nothing else. And it only took him a couple seconds to realize the problem with that. His eyes widened and he went stiff. He rushed back the way he'd come and shouldered Xigbar aside, who had been leaning on the door up to now. The other let out an indignant yell, but Axel wasn't listening. The only thing he was listening for, was noises on the other side of that wall. He pressed his ear up against it, even. But it was silent.

He waited a moment….and then two. But then he was whirling around to face the pair, and his eyes were smoldering with anger. They jerked, clearly taken aback. "Are you even paying attention?" he demanded. Neither of them replied, but he didn't even give them much of a chance to in the first place. "It's way too quiet in there! Did you even notice that at all? How long has it been like that?" They were lost. He didn't really have any room to blame them; it had taken him up to now to notice, and they'd been there for quite a while. But still, impulsiveness led him to yell anyway. "Do you  _know_  what Xemnas would do if he—?"

He stiffened immediately when the sound of footsteps started to echo their way up the hall. The other two looked behind him and their eyes widened; he did the opposite, and shut his. He cursed the words that had slipped out of his mouth, and he prayed that it wasn't the worse-case scenario. But the universe had to hate him; that, or it had a wonderful sense of humor. Because when he turned and forced his eyes to open very uneasily, there was the worst-case, walking directly up to them. Xemnas' yellow eyes were already burning with anger, even before he really had the chance to survey the scene he'd just walked into. He looked so angry that even Xaldin didn't have anything smart to say.

Behind him stood Maleficent— that witch he'd left to speak to in the first place. She looked just as repulsed by them as he was, if not a little more so. Her upper lip was curled with something akin to disgust, and he could practically  _hear_ her thinking to herself than they were all idiots. Granted…she wouldn't be all that off that mark. Xemnas seemed to be sharing the same train of thought. " _What_  is going on here?" he asked growled. Although he didn't yell, it would have had the same effect. Axel found himself wincing from the sheer amount of pent-up anger that was hiding behind every word. "I believe that you were under  _strict orders_  to do nothing until I came back.".

Axel opened his mouth to try and defend himself, but he didn't have the chance before Xaldin was speaking up in a low growl. Talking for all them, it seemed, but Axel was five seconds from punching him in the face. "The kid tried to make a run for it," he grumbled. "He was fighting back— we figured he could spend his energy doing something more  _productive."_ Already, this was bad enough as Xemnas just scowled at him. He had to go and make it worse by adding more off-handedly: "We wanted to wipe that stupid look off his face." The 'we' almost got Axel karate-chopping him in the throat, just to shut him up. If looks could kill, the one he was shooting Xaldin at the moment would do the trick very nicely.

Maleficent looked like she was getting nothing but pleasure, watching Xemnas' irritation only build as he glared at Xaldin. At her slight chuckle, he turned and shot her a look. It caused her to sour, and glare right back for a moment…it seemed like whatever 'alliance' he had left to go and build wasn't all that great a relationship, so far. But she didn't actually say anything back to him, no matter how much it seemed like she wanted to. All she did was wave her hand. She muttered something under her breath, too— Axel had no idea what she had done, but whatever it was, she turned as soon as she did and stalked away. He glanced at the room, wondering whether or not she had called off the Heartless. He wondered if  _he_ had the power to control the Heartless now, as well. They were fickle things, and that was putting it lightly…if he had the power, he would have called them off about thirty minutes ago.

"Axel." He snapped back to attention and turned quickly at the sound of his name. But by the time he did, Xemnas was already turned and walking after Maleficent. Probably leaving to iron out whatever details were still left. "Fetch the Keybearer," he ordered over his shoulder. His eyes rounded out a little at the order, the way a kid would if their parents told them to put away the dishes for the third time that day. It was a good thing he wasn't around to see it; he was sure the look wouldn't fly at all. "Send him back to his room. We don't have time for things like this. Yet." The last word was added softer, almost more to himself than anything.

"Yes, Xemnas." The compliance was readily given…more muscle memory than anything. But the second Xemnas rounded the corner and left entirely, he turned and shot the remaining two a look of loathing. " _Great_ ," he growled through clenched teeth, only angrier when he realized neither of them looked the tiniest bit guilty. "Now I have to pick up  _your_  guys' mess."

Xigbar snickered. "Well?" he prompted, when Axel didn't move right away. "Hop to it."

Xaldin's smirk was much snider. "We would have thought you'd be  _jumping_ at the chance to be with him." This earned a very  _poisonous_ glare from him. Xaldin wasn't bothered. "Hm? Just for  _old times' sake?"_

He rounded on him, his eyes going into slits. "I'd watch it if I were you," he all but snarled.

Xaldin didn't even blink. His eyes just narrowed slightly, and he scoffed. "C'mon, Axel," he nudged, the ghost of scorn hiding in his voice, now. "We all know why you suddenly came back. We all know why you're  _here."_

Axel said nothing. He locked his jaw back, scowling hard at him, and he still never even blinked. For a couple seconds he tried to fumble for something to say. Something to flash back so he might not feel  _entirely_ humiliated. But he couldn't manage anything. And after the tiny pause all he managed was a gruff: "You guys give me a headache." Xaldin just snickered again. Xigbar smiled, himself. Axel was sick of seeing them. He shouldered Xaldin out of the way too, using way more force than was actually needed. He could  _feel_ the irritation coming off of him, but he didn't care. He just went to the door and opened it up. For precaution's sake, he only opened it a crack and slipped through. He had no idea what to expect on the other side, and he'd rather be safer than sorry. Xemnas was already pissed. If Sora burst out and made another break for it, it was going to be their heads.

But there was apparently no need to worry about anything like that. Because the second he shut the door and turned around, his eyes were widening. And, against himself, his shoulders were slackening with a mixture of surprise and…concern. It was just the first impulse— it was a gut reaction, nothing more, it wasn't important. That's what he'd tell himself later, anyway. But for now, it was the reaction he had to turning around and seeing Sora. He wasn't moving; Axel's fear before had been right— there were no sounds coming from the room because nothing was happening anymore. Sora wasn't fighting, he'd passed out again.

He was crumpled on the ground, on his side. He was a ways away, and the closer Axel got, the more his stomach was beginning to twist. His injuries were a sight to see. They were already bad before, which was part of the reason why they'd been explicitly told that there was no putting him in the room until later, to do this. Now, they all looked twice as bad. He was bleeding a  _lot._ Or…maybe he just already  _had_ bled at lot, and the blood that was covering him now was just old. It was impossible to tell; it was just a lot of red. Axel's footsteps echoed in the huge room as he came closer. They were horribly loud to him, but Sora didn't even bat an eye. He was dead to everything. In fact, Axel had to make a special effort to look at his chest the closer he came, just to make sure that he  _was_ breathing. Just to make absolutely sure.

But he was. That was something, at least…right? He shoved the thought away. He just straightened and took in a deeper breath, grimacing when he came to a stop in front of him. He hesitated for a long moment, staring awkwardly and agonizing over what he should do. He was  _not_ the person for this. At  _all._ He didn't want anything to do with  _this_ part of it. All he was here for was for what was to come after. This…this was  _hard._ He was hung up for a second, with these thoughts, weakening significantly as he just stood and stared down at Sora, and how beaten and bloody he was. How he looked, and how much he…looked like…

He took in a sharp breath and shoved everything away. He just crouched down and reached out. He hesitated for a second more and tried to figure out where the best spot would be to touch him. He wanted to avoid any of his injuries, if at all possible. But looking at him, it was pretty clear that there wasn't a whole lot of space that  _didn't_ have a wound. He ended up settling on the top of his shoulder— one of the spots that was actually free of any insult. He felt a small twinge of guilt when he started to shake him. But he didn't have much of a choice. Picking him up might hurt him more. And he was sure if Sora woke up spontaneously in his arms, the kid would  _not_ be a fan of that. And Axel would likely end up with a bloody nose.

"Hey." For some reason, he didn't feel right talking anything above a whisper. Sora stayed numb. He just moved uselessly with Axel's shaking. Back and forth, as his head lolled. He was really out of it. Axel flinched again and sighed, but tried to steel himself. "Hey." He made his voice just a little bit louder. "Wake up. …Sora." Sora's forehead creased just a little. A tiny frown traced itself over his features. He was started to rouse, and Axel stiffened a little with the realization. But he forced himself to keep trying. He even shook him with a little bit more force. "Sora, wake up," he urged. The other started to begin the overwhelming effort of prying his eyes open. "Sora. C'mon. Open your eyes."

He did. It was gradual, and it was slow, but eventually Sora forced his eyes to open. He only managed them halfway, at first. His stare was groggy and unfocused; he looked sick and in pain, and horribly so. Axel almost felt bad. But he didn't have time to really formulate the feeling all the way, before Sora was realizing who it was he was staring at, and apparently piecing together what that meant. As soon as he did, he was wrenching away from the other, moving fast despite his injuries. The sharp movement obviously caused him a lot of pain. He cried out under his breath, choking on agony that thrilled through him the second he forced himself into motion.

But he skittered back anyway. He was breathing fast. Axel sat back, giving him a second to come back to himself. He watched as Sora whirled, looking all around him with huge eyes. He looked confused. Axel decided to clear up the confusion, even without him actually managing to ask the question he knew would be on his tongue. "I saved you the trouble of those fast few Heartless," he drawled, ensuring his voice was blank and apathetic. Sora's eyes flashed as he turned and scowled at him. He stayed on the ground, just like Axel was; he was probably too weak to do anything else. But he was curled defensively, and waves of hatred were already rolling off of him to practically slap Axel across the face.

Normally the glare wouldn't faze Axel at all. But for some reason, he was stopping short, when Sora fixed him with this glower. He didn't mean to at first— he was just going to move on. But he was stopped, before he could. His shoulders slackened and his eyes widened just the tiniest bit; almost so little that it wasn't noticeable. But the response he got when Sora glared at him was noticeable, to  _him._ He found hat he couldn't say anything for a second, under that glare. He found his mind going a little blank, his shoulders going a little stiffer.

It was odd to see that very same gaze. The same blue eyes. With so much hatred and fury.

His reverie was broken when Sora spoke up. His voice was just as furious as his scowl was. "Who are you?" he asked. He was enraged, but his voice was breathless, and ragged. It shook with the sheer exhaustion that was plaguing him, now, and it was clenched tight with barely-held-in-agony. He was a little surprised at first. Before he realized that Sora had never actually met him face-to-face, before. He realized…he'd thought the kid would already  _know_ his name.

Maybe that was just him being stupid.

He cleared his throat. Shoved everything else down and locked it away. His voice was controlled and blank when he spoke, and he was grateful for that. "The name's Axel." Sora's eyes flashed. But he didn't say anything. "A-X-E-L. Got it memorized?"

Silence followed this. Sora just kept trying to catch up with his breathing and regularize it again. Axel noticed that just sitting up was taking a lot out of him— his arms were shaking, with the effort. The scowl wasn't going anywhere. Axel wished it would. "And what the  _heck_  was that for?" he panted. Despite the hostility in his voice, and the tension still in his shoulders, most of his alarm was fading. He kept enough of his guard to be smart, but he was putting more effort into recovering. He was shifting his legs, grimacing at both the exhaustion and the muscle pain he had. He was started to try and figure out the best way to actually get back up.

Axel was silent, as he just watched these tiny efforts. He got a little distracted, just staring at him. Eventually, when the silence was getting too long, and Sora threw him another look, Axel had to shake himself. He cleared his throat again, painfully aware that he'd already done that plenty of times. "Let's let somebody much more  _qualified_  answer that question," he said bracingly. Sora eyed him warily. Axel stood and stooped down, reaching out for Sora's arm to help him up. He went slow, trying to mind his injuries so he wouldn't hurt him even more.

Bu the instant he was reaching down, Sora was jerking backwards, like he'd been slapped. " _Don't_  touch me," he practically spat; the venom that was in his voice was actually enough to get him to take his hand away for a second in sheer surprise. He didn't even  _know_ Sora was capable of sounding so enraged. He was known to be all sunshine and rainbows. There was no trace of that left, now. He was beaten and weary; he was tired and glaring and defensive. He looked like a caged animal that wasp poised to attack at any given moment.

He shook his head to clear it. Braced himself, and reached down again. "Come on." His voice was flat. He grabbed Sora's arm, and this time, he did it too fast for him to duck away. Sora started yelling out insults, but Axel was blocking them out; he just pulled up and forced him to his feet. The kid was weak— he must have been dizzy, because the second he actually stood, he was staggering and stumbling. Axel found he had to hold most of his weight for him. But still, Sora started scuffing at the ground as Axel began to try and cart him towards the door. He felt a flash of irritation. "You're going to make this a lot more difficult than it needs to be!" Sora ignored him; he had little energy left, but he was using what was left of it to try and twist out of his grip. Holding him, walking him, and trying to avoid his injuries, all while he was twisting and stumbling, was near impossible. "What are you doing?" Axel snapped. Sora just started to try and elbow him in the stomach, to get him to loosen his grip.  _"Stop!"_

_"No! Let go!"_  Sora kept jerking and tugging. Just because exhaustion was weighing down on him like a million pounds didn't mean that he was going to let himself be toted around without a fight. He hadn't been brought  _here_ without a fight; he was going to keep up the trend. Granted, it was a pretty sad trend given that so far none of it had worked. But  _still._  The less that he allowed these guys to do to him, the better. Fighting was all he had left now, anyway.

Axel was frankly surprised that Sora was able to fight so much, still. It was like he was trying to hold a stick of butter or an ice cube in your hands. The harder he held him, the more Sora managed to slip out of his grip somehow, and the more his frustration built.  _"Let me go!"_  Sora yelled over and over, ducking his head and yanking forward, backward, any way at all. Axel was buckling, trying to wrap his arms around his upper chest and hold him that way, but Sora just went dead weight, trying to literally fall out of his grip. He was ignoring all of his warnings to stop; he just kept going. "Let go!" Sora yelled again.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. Axel drew the line and grabbed Sora's shoulders again, wrenching him around and digging his fingers into him hard as he fixed him with a furious glare. He yanked him as hard as he could at the same time; the shake rattled his teeth and made his head spin. For that second, Sora stopped altogether, his blue eyes going wide and his expression going a little blank. Axel took this chance to tighten his hold and make sure there was no way he could get away from him. And he also took the chance to yell less than two inches away from his face, not thinking before he did. "Will you just  _stop,_  Roxas?!"

Abrupt silence followed the words. The both of them registered his yell at the same time, because at the same time, twin looks of shock and confusion came over their faces. Axel's mouth hung halfway open; he almost couldn't decipher the words that had burst out of his mouth somehow. He couldn't believe that he had let it slip. Sora stared at him like he was a deer in headlights. Axel was struggling to figure out what to say, struggling to figure out something he could say to somehow explain. But he couldn't think of anything. He just stood there and stared. Sora stared right back; now, he was frozen in place. The two of them were stuck like this for a second. Just staring at one another.

But eventually Axel could get over the mental hurdle. He shut his eyes and ripped his mind back to himself. Before Sora had the chance to recover like he did, he grabbed him harder and started making for the door again. This time, he practically carried him, to make sure that there was no fighting. But Sora was still too confused to fight, it seemed. He stumbled and staggered— if Axel wasn't there, he would have fallen. But he didn't say anything else, and when Axel snuck a glance down at him he could still see that befuddlement staying on his face. He didn't say anything either. The tension and awkwardness between them was palpable, and it just got even more palpable when neither addressed it.

He finally reached the door and went out into the hall. Halfway there he'd started to dread the worst, and once again, the universe had faithfully delivered. Xigbar and Xaldin were still in the hall, and they had heard his outburst. Xaldin had an undisguised smirk of amusement written over his face, and the very stare was enough to set Axel's blood boiling as his grip on the keyblade wielder's shoulders tightened subconsciously. Xigbar did not share in the apparent humor. His stare was judgmental as he regarded Axel, and there was a hint of a frown on his face as Axel glanced his way.

He thought about stopping long enough to snap something smart at them. But he took it back at the last second. He didn't have the energy, and he knew whatever he'd say would just make it worse. Thankfully the pair stayed where they were; they didn't follow when Axel turned and started steering Sora back the way they'd come a while ago— back to the room that had been designated for him. The entire way, and Sora didn't fight him at all, or even object or say anything smart. Axel snuck another glance down at him; he wasn't sure what to think at the confused and empty look that was on his face. He looked sullen and at a loss of what to do. He just flinched hard at every other step, and bit back on cries when one in particular was too painful.

Axel looked back up and forced himself not to cave and look at him again; it was just making it worse.

It took them a while to reach the room, because Sora's mobility was so impaired thanks to his ankle. The second they reached, Axel caught Sora's wince when he looked up and realized where they were. They came to a stop, and Axel slowly let go of his shoulder, lingering there for a second as if he was worried Sora was going to fall and wanted to be there just in case. Sure enough, Sora wavered, and he stiffened a little bit. But he regained his balance and took in a slow breath, letting it out just as slowly. Axel said nothing, but unfortunately, Sora was wiser now, and he didn't  _need_ him to say anything else. He opened the door himself and went inside. In one way it was giving up. But on the other hand, it was the tiniest bit of relief, to actually be able to do something for himself.

Axel opened his mouth to say something, but Sora closed the door on him before he could. His head was hung, and his eyes were dull. The ground was shaking a little bit in his vision; he felt dizzy and drained and tired and just a little hopeless— so he just wanted to  _sleep._ He didn't even care where. At this point, he would gladly just slide down to the floor and fall asleep there, and be grateful for the chance. However, as soon as he started to actually entertain the idea, he was stopping short. His sluggish brain was just connecting to his surroundings, and his eyes were flying wide when his head jerked up. He heart plummeted, and he stumbled backwards. His back hit the wall— there was nowhere else to go. All he could so was stand there and stare, his mouth halfway open in a pathetic attempt at getting something out.

At the other end of the room, which was not very far at all, stood the Organization member he hadn't recognized, the man's heartless yellow eyes boring with hungry intensity into Sora's blue ones. The gaze alone was enough to chill him, and turn his blood to ice. He remembered him the most, when it came to that fight…he had been the most relentless. The most formidable. Sora's stomach felt like one huge gaping pit. "…Who are you?" he asked hollowly. He didn't answer at firs. But Sora couldn't take the silence. "…What do you want?" he demanded, thankfully recovering the little bit of edge to his voice that had been lost to shock.

The man's voice was smooth and unbothered when he answered. It was just as cold as his stare was. Just as unnerving. "I've come to greet the new addition to the team." The figure's tone was laced thick with venom and dark humor, something that made Sora twitch where he stood against the wall. But the words also sent a thrill of anger through him as well, red-hot. He was almost grateful. It was this anger that started to stomp away his fear and surprise. He was starting to glare instead. But the other seemed to only find humor in the scowl. "My name is Xemnas," he introduced anyway, disregarding the look.

He didn't even care about the name again. "I'm not a part of your stupid organization!" Sora exploded. Despite his fury, Xemnas wasn't even batting an eye. "If you think I would  _ever_  side with you, you guys must be stupider than I thought!" There was an immense amount of feeling behind the words, which just made him angrier when there was  _still_ no reaction from him. When Xemnas still stared at him like he was a little kid doing something mildly annoying. Sora's hands clenched at his sides. He threw out another jab,  _struggling_ to get under this person's skin. "I guess this means you must be pretty desperate for  _smart_ people in your group, huh?" He felt a strange kind of satisfaction when  _this_ caused the man's eyes to narrow slightly. "Are you getting a little tired of the same old idiots—?"

"I would suggest you stop talking before you make me do something I'll regret," Xemnas growled.

Sarcasm and bitterness was like armor, to him. Shielding him a little bit from the fear, and giving him the façade of control. "Well,  _that's_  scary," he replied, clenching his hands even harder so that he wouldn't see they were starting to shake. "You can't do anything to me," he growled, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "Whatever you're planning, it won't work. I won't do  _anything_  that would help your group. I would  _never_  stoop to your level." Despite everything else, at least he knew that  _this_  was true. His entire quest – all of his morals – went against this group and the very things that they were doing. The world would come to an end before he donned a black coat and hood.

Xemnas was completely unbothered, though. "But you will," he assured. He clasped his hands behind his back and took a couple steps closer. It wasn't a lot, but in this room and how small it was, even one step was like five. Sora pressed himself back more against the wall, wishing desperately that he could backtrack, and right their distance. He struggled to keep his glare. "If you don't want any more harm to come to your friends, that is." As soon as the words escaped the man's mouth, Sora froze. His stomach jolted, and his heart plummeted. His reaction must have been obvious; Xemnas was smirking immediately. " Have I struck a nerve?" he mused, relishing in every aspect of his response.

"Y-You can't do anything to my friends." He hated how uncertain the words sounded.

"I  _assure_  you, I can," he vowed, voice dangerously positive. Sora's mouth was drier. It was getting more difficult to breathe. "What was her name again?" Xemnas asked. His tone was innocent, but his smile was far from. "Kairi?" Sora's eyes flew wide at the very first syllable. He didn't even try to hide the horror that wrote itself over his face; Xemnas was chuckling at such an obvious reaction. "Such a  _darling_  little girl; she's quite the prize. It would be such a shame if something were to happen to her. Or anyone else, for that matter. Isn't that right, Sora?" His entire body betraying him now. Sora was staring down at the floor with eyes that were much too wide. There was no hiding the fact that he was trembling, now.

Xemnas was silent for a moment, stopping and just enjoying the sight of the keybearer so helplessly under his thumb. After going so long losing to the child, he was more than happy to linger here a moment. But suddenly, Sora snapped his head back up and took in a quick breath against his rising panic. "You can't hurt my friends! They'll come for me!" This defiance was wiping Xemnas' smile clean. That irritation was left to crawl back into place, instead. "You won't get away with this; they wouldn't let you! And they're strong! Stronger than you— stronger than  _anyone_ in this stupid organization!"

"Ah, your comrades," Xemnas sneered. The mockery in his tone had Sora deflating just a little. But he struggled against it and just nodded tensely, instead. They had come through for him countless times before— why should this be any different? He had faith in them. "The little duck and that dog?" Sora gritted his teeth. "They won't be coming for you any time soon." He blinked, his shoulders drooping as his glare fractured into confusion, instead. Xemnas' stare was grim. "The dog is dead." The words were blunt. Sora had already remembered it, but having it thrown back in his face was enough to take his breath away. It was enough to already make his eyes sting. "He died by a falling rock…isn't that heroic?" The laugher in this was like salt to an open wound.

He was silent for some time. Sora could hardly even get in enough air to make a reply at all. Somehow, he managed it. Though his voice was soft, and much weaker than normal. "…Donald then." Sora rasped softly, finding himself fearing the man's reply.

And sure enough, the answer sank into him like a knife, without any warning whatsoever. "He was too easy to kill— it took less than five minutes," Xemnas sneered. "Frankly, I don't know how you could have made the whole journey with him; he is quite a poor fighter." Sora fell into a horrified silence, his blue eyes hollowing. He struggled for words. Struggled to calm down. He tried to tell himself to calm down before he got away from himself— he tried to point out that Xemnas could be lying to him, that he didn't anything for sure. But at the same time, he recalled how easily he was beaten when he was ambushed. Had  _they_ ambushed them, too? They could have easily killed him; the only reason they didn't was because they brought him back here. Had they just finished the deed with Donald? No…no, of course they hadn't. Of course not! He was lying to him!

Xemnas saw the inner struggle on his face. Saw the fact that he was still trying to tell himself there was hope. He'd had enough of it. Before Sora could react, he was sweeping forward, lashing out and grabbing the front of Sora's shirt hard. He yanked him out, only to slam him back against the wall. Unprepared for the attack, considering how close they had already been, Sora cried out in pain when his head made painful contact. Tears were welling fast in his eyes when Xemnas leaned so they were practically nose-to-nose.

"Listen well," he growled. Sora tried to bit back on a whimper, reaching up and fumbling to try and pull his hand off. But the other was too strong, and just jerked him again. He couldn't take any more hits to his head; already, the one hit was making him feel dizzy and sick. He found himself giving up, staring off to the side and trying not to blink so that his tears wouldn't actually fall. "We killed your little duck and dog, and we did it quickly, without a  _single_  hesitation. And unless you do  _exactly_  as we say exactly  _when_  we say it, we will do the same thing to  _each and every one of your friends_  until they are all dead, and we will make you  _watch_  as we do it until you have  _nobody_ left. Do you understand the terms of which you are now required?" he spat.

Xemnas was almost positive that this would be enough to shut him up. But to his furious shock, he still persisted. His voice was small and weak, but he was still trying to fight. Though his foundation was clearly crumbling. "The king," he practically whispered. Xemnas looked at how weak he was; at how easily the keybearer was swayed when his friends were brought into the equation. It was his biggest weakness. If this was all it took, Xemnas wondered how in the world the keyblade bearer like this had served as such a real problem in the past. He wasn't a force to be reckoned with. He was  _child._  "The king would never let this happen," Sora pressed, trying to make his voice just a little harder.

Xemnas glared at him for a couple moments, before he regained his smile, filled with contempt. Without warning, he stepped away and let go of Sora's shirt. Immediately, the boy's legs buckled. He collapsed to the ground, unable to catch himself. Xemnas took great joy in hearing the slam, and his pained choke upon contact. Sora flinched hard; his entire body was screaming in pain, but he still pushed himself up. He could only manage to get up on all fours. He looked up at Xemnas, his face filled with horrible pain and anger and grief and sorrow…it was a delight to see. It was even more a delight when he tried to shoot him a glare, despite the fact his eyes were gleaming obviously with tears.

Xemnas smiled wide, as if he had been given a present. And he had— this was his present. The keybearer was all his, and under his thumb. His reply was overly soft, nothing but condescending and scornful. "Do you  _really_  think the king cares enough about you to come here?" Sora blinked; his face fell. Hurt flickered across his expression. He started to open his mouth, but Xemnas wasn't giving him the chance to get anything out. "He could care less about what could happen to you. You're just meant to do his dirty work. He has  _much_ more important things to do." Sora struggled to throw him yet another scowl. But his lips were trembling. Xemnas didn't miss the fact. And he smiled, as he turned and started for the door. "Face it, Sora. You're all alone, here." he hummed. "So rethink your actions of not doing what we say. Heaven knows what kind of trouble itcould bring."

And with that, he opened the door and stepped out in the hall, shutting it behind him and leaving Sora locked back in the room, feeling more alone than he had ever felt before in his entire life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short, but the next chapter is almost all the way done so the wait for it will be much shorter!   
> Thank you for your patience; I didn't mean for the updates to slow, school caught up with me. I hope you like this chapter!

Soft pattering sounds, stronger with each passing minute, drummed against Sora's ears. It must be raining outside. But the fact was trivial. Weather didn't matter; it didn't offer him any information that would actually be important. Like what time it was, what day it was, or how long he had been here. Frustration bottled itself in the back of his throat at the sheer lack of information, and with every passing minute, it just got worse. Being in this room alone for such a long time – what  _felt_  like forever – was beginning to make him jittery. A pent-up feeling was starting to settle into his legs and his chest. He had to draw his fingers through his hair and fidget and grimace, just to keep himself from freaking out with claustrophobia and irritation.

Xemnas had left the room hours ago. Once he had, Sora had stopped trying to fight; he had sunk down to the ground and he had stayed there, just catching his breath and trying to get the room to steady again. He had tried to wrap his mind around the situation and come to actual terms with what he was stuck with now. He'd wanted to just relax and sleep, before. But now, with the threat he had been left with ringing in his ears, his heart was slamming against his chest and refusing to slow. He was still shaking, still breathing faster than normal. Still trying to wrestle with the anxiety and fear that was pressing on his chest.

The image of Goofy limp against the ground was still very much burned into Sora's mind. Now, laying here, he found himself picturing  _all_ of his friends like that. All gone, all dead. Because  _he_  had messed up. Would it be Yuffie? Or Leon? Merlin? He had a long list of friends— it stretched for miles. And now the list has turned into targets— into people that now had the possibility to be tracked down and killed if he refused to bow his head. It horrified him, it made him shake, it made him want to be sick.

He had no choice. That was the end of all this, wasn't it? If he objected, people could die. People he loved. But what did that even mean? What  _was_ expected of him— what did they want from him? Xemnas hadn't even said. How could he possibly try and plan for something that he was still left in the dark about? He was in what was turning out to be the epitome of a rock and a hard place, and suddenly the idea of wriggling out was starting to seem impossible.

But…he couldn't just bend! He couldn't give up…could he? His entire quest revolved around efforts to bring these people down. And even on top of what was going on, Sora had been under the impression that the enemies brought forth by this group were Dusks and shells of Nobodies. Now they had Heartless on their side, too. Were there any more surprises waiting to jump out at him? It was frustrating  _enough_  to be in this kind of situation— being trapped and penned inside of a room like some kind of animal…it was already taking a significant amount of effort to slow down and keep himself centered. It was only getting harder.

He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, ducking his head down and covering it with his arms, as if there was anything to be gained from hiding. He had no idea how long he'd been here…how long he had been alone. It felt like  _forever._ The silence was earsplitting, it was deafening. It was getting harder to keep his breathing in check, and to keep himself from hyperventilating. He had no idea what day it was, he had no idea how long he had been here after he'd passed out prior to this, and he had no idea what was expected of him here or what he should do in response to it. He had no idea at all.

And Sora had no idea whether or not Xemnas had been lying to him before— whether or not Donald had been killed too. But he couldn't prove him wrong. He was starting to fear that he wouldn't get the  _chance_ to. It occurred to him then that he didn't even know how the battle with the Heartless had ended in the first place. The last he had seen, his friends were still struggling with the tidal wave. What if they hadn't even been able to finish them all off? Had they fallen prey to all of them? Had they pulled through, without him there to help?

A faint wondering started, crawling up from the back of the boy's mind and causing him to pull his knees up tightly to his chest. If his friends hadn't managed to beat over the Heartless in the end…would there even be anybody left to notice he'd been gone? What if they thought he'd just died somewhere, and they didn't go out and try to find him? Would he really never see them again? A tiny, choked noise died in the back of his throat, sorrow causing a knife to twist in his stomach. He didn't often let himself feel so hopeless. He always fought to look on the bright side. But…maybe there wasn't a bright side in this.

He never felt this hopeless. This at a loss.

And that…made him  _angry._

His eyes had started to prick, and blur over with tears, but as the realization settled in, that he was already being driven to this point, Sora's expression gradually changed. It sharpened, it hardened. His breaths, which had started to turn just a little more choking, suddenly hitched with a different kind of emotion. He was still curled away on the ground, but he started to uncover his head, and pick it back up. His vision was still blurred through a sheen of water, but his eyes started to narrow. His jaw locked back, and anger started to fill his expression.

His hands clenched into fists. He said nothing, and he didn't get up. He didn't have the strength to get up, yet. But still, he scowled, and his scowl was only setting harder with every passing second. Anger burned under his skin and it sat like a rock in his stomach. Usually he was good about not letting that feeling take over. Usually he tried to keep his head above it. But now, he wasn't even trying. He was scowling, gritting his teeth…he was letting it fester.

He wouldn't shove it away. He would let it grow. And he would use it.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

Wheezing, Yuffie fought for enough air to fill her lungs. She leaned over, putting her hands on her knees as she tried to steady her breath rate. She ducked her head and grimaced hard as she shook her head to try and clear it. Her throat was raw. After running up and down the Bailey for the millionth time today, she was sapped of energy. She was close to just giving up entirely and collapsing. Despite how many times she had done this, she didn't stop. And neither did the pain. There was a stitch in her side, and her ankle certainly wasn't thanking her for all the moving she was doing. A wiser person than her would give up.

A  _wiser_ one.

Every day, as soon as the first shed of light started to leak its way over the town, Yuffie was out turning the place upside down in desperate search for Sora.  _Everyone_ did, as a unit. Each day, it was another round of search parties. There were frequent check-ins and hopeful requests for updates, but every one was met with the same disappointed mumble, or shake of the head. All they were getting was disappointment, all they were getting was more exhausted and more strained. But nobody was going to give up; they were going to keep searching for their friend. He had to be  _somewhere,_ here. …Right? Right.

It didn't matter. It didn't matter what they were getting so far, something was going to change, eventually. They were all working hard, they were all sending out love for their friend, wherever he was, and just hoping that he would get some kind of notion, if he could. Even when each day passed with unsuccessful answers, they were relentless in their efforts. They weren't going to give up— not on Sora. Never on Sora.

"Hey." Yuffie stiffened, the silence that had filled the Bailey being shattered unpredictably. She'd started to crouch, getting lower and lower to the ground as if she might actually sit. But with this, she forced herself back up and turned. Leon was standing a few feet away; she hadn't even heard him approach in the first place. She was still trying catch her breath, but once she realized he was there, she at least tried to make it seem a little less noticeable. She could tell that it wasn't really all that effective, though, going by the way he was looking at her. He was frowning; she could  _feel_ his disapproval in the air. "You know, you've searched this place at least five times today," he pointed out. "Merlin is getting worried about you; you should come back."

She was shaking her head before the man could even finish. "I can't," she puffed. Leon wasn't surprised, but he  _was_ disapproving. "I can't stop; something could happen. He could move, or he could— he could show up or he could be hurt somewhere, and I might miss him. He might— he might just be waiting for help, he might just be hoping we find him." Leon looked like he was going to try and fight her. She just shook her head harder, which made her even dizzier. "He could be injured from the fight and too weak to move. He could die! There's no time to waste! Tell Merlin I'm fine— he needs to stop worrying."

"Yuffie." She huffed, glaring at him, now. But Leon wasn't one to back down just from a sour look. "You  _have_  to stop." He started to take a few steps closer. Yuffie drew back a little defensively— her eyes flashed as she kept her glare. Her hands clenched at her sides, and she had a couple of choice words that she just barely held back. "You're wrecking yourself over this, Yuffie. I think you need to slow down. You've been out searching day and night for Sora, even  _with_ your injured leg. Everyone's starting to worry about you and frankly I'm getting there myself."

"I'm concerned for my friend," Yuffie snapped. In any other situation, Leon would have been more equipped to glare at her stubbornness. But, considering, he wasn't able to. He just looked tired, and strained. Even more so than usual, which was saying something. "Aren't you even the slightest bit concerned over where Sora could be?" she pushed, probably toeing the line. "Over what might be happening to him?" Leon opened his mouth to speak, but she didn't give him any chance. "He could be in danger, and you think I should stop and go back?"

"You just have to stop and slow down." Leon was doing his best to stay gentle, and kind. Gentle and kid wasn't easy for him as it was; in this setting, it was even more difficult. "You have to think rationally. I know you mean well and it's a pretty bad situation, but you have to pause for a second. What use could you be to him if you're hurt? No to mention, you could be blowing this way out of proportion; don't you know that? Things could have an easy solution, and I'm not saying that because I don't want to try looking for him, because you  _know_  I do, I'm saying it because—"

"So you're saying it's  _exactly_  like Sora for him to leave without Goofy or Donald? Without telling anyone?" Yuffie challenged. Leon was cut off immediately. He closed his eyes and ducked his head. His expression was fracturing…a little bit of guilt crawled its way onto his face at the question, and at the fact the answer was obvious. She seemed pained at the reaction, but grimly satisfied. She went on. "You think it's completely normal for Sora to leave without any word or warning right in the middle of a Heartless invasion? Especially on  _that_ scale? Goofy and Donald told me that the Gummi Ship hasn't even been  _touched_. So how did he leave, then?"

"There's  _other_ ways for him to travel, I'm sure," Leon pressed. She glared hard at him and stuck her tongue into her cheek. At least she didn't interrupt. "But it  _is_ _exactly_  like Sora to get ahead of himself. You know the kid— once he gets some kind of idea in his mind there's no stopping him. He's more stubborn than you are most time— and you have to admit, he's reached some of his greatest achievements when he's been at his stubbornest." He shook his head. "You're making it sound like he doesn't know what he's doing. He's  _smart_ , Yuffie…you seem to be forgetting that."

Yuffie grimaced. A lot of silence passed after he said this. Eventually, she shook her head. Her voice came out softer, and weaker. "I just can't stop thinking the worst case scenario…and maybe that's wrong of me. But it's all I can think of, and as long as it's what I think, I  _cannot_ stop looking for him. I can't give up, not even for a second." His eyes flashed in pain. Her expression was suddenly hollow— devoid of pretty much anything. "If we find out later that something  _did_ happen to him, and he was  _trying_  to rely on us…I don't want to have to face the fact that I didn't do anything to try and help him."

His chest ripped in acute pain. It was surprising, and it was sudden, and it was enough to take his breath away— to almost make himself as breathless as she was. It took a significant effort to try and move past it, and ignore it. "I know you're just trying to help," he murmured. Now, his voice was nothing but gentle. It was enough to get Yuffie to flinch. "I would never want that, either. All of us are doing the best we can—  _all_  of us are doing all that's possible. But if he's waiting for us in any way, shape or form, he's  _going_  to be found, Yuffie. You know that, right?" He gave her a couple of seconds to answer, but it didn't seem like she was going to. When she only stared at him, he had to go on. " _But_. We won't get anywhere if you just run yourself to the ground. That doesn't help Sora."

She closed her eyes. She looked sick. "I'm not just going to stop," she objected after a beat of hesitation. When she opened them again, her eyes were shining with unshed tears. She was trying to keep her voice steady, and make sure there was no hitching. She wasn't sure how effective her efforts actually came out to be. " I can't stop hearing him  _scream_ , Leon," she croaked. He actually flinched away from this, but she was so preoccupied, she didn't even notice. "Until I find him, I don't think it's going to be able to get out of my head. So I  _have_ to keep looking."

There was silence again. Leon was trying to wrack his brain to try and find something he could say. But his chest was just getting hollower with every exchange, and every failed attempt to get sense into her. So far, getting her to caved looked as impossible as moving a mountain. But he found that now, he was more just trying to comfort her. He wasn't as focused on getting her to sit down. He was more focused on trying to get that heavy weight off her chest he could practically see. "What if he went off to try and find his other friends?"

She jerked in surprise, a befuddled frown creasing over her face. It took her a second, but that confusion was more able to clear when he continued. "What were their names…Riku and Kairi?" It was almost impossible not to be able to remember; Sora only talked about them every five minutes. "The king's original orders were to do that, don't you remember? He tried to get Sora to them, and out of Hollow Bastion I the first place. He might have just come to his senses…realized that we could handle things before taking off. He might not even  _be here_ , Yuffie. Have you ever thought of that? He might not be here to find."

"But…but he still wouldn't have…" There were many flaws in that explanation. Sora  _still_  wouldn't have left behind Donald or Goofy. He wouldn't have abandoned his friends for the Heartless; that was why he had disobeyed the king in the  _first_  place. Leon was trying to calm her down but the efforts were meaningless if all they did was highlight how  _wrong_ any other rationalization was. She wanted to argue— she wanted to snap all of this at him. But she saw the way he was looking at her, practically begging her to just take this and be comforted. She wasn't. But she also was sick of going in circles.

She fell silent, her eyes just going down to the ground. The unease on her face was not lessened, so neither was the unease on Leon's. She could tell he knew the words hadn't touched her at all; she could read it in the way he was staring at her, his eyebrows a little drawn together. He opened his mouth, like he was going to try again. Yuffie was begging him mentally not to. However, luck – just for this one thing, she supposed – was on her side, because before he could start over, footsteps echoed their way over to them. They both roused and turned, and found their eyes falling on Donald and Goofy. The pair had a little more rush than normal in their step.

For a split, hopeful second, Yuffie thought they'd found something. But they got closer, and she was left to deflate all over again when she saw that they had nothing – or nobody – in tow, and there was no triumph of relief on their faces. Just that same concern and exhaustion that had been on everyone's face since Sora had left. There was nothing different…nothing new. Still, it was nice to see familiar faces. To see your emotion reflected somewhere else and know that you were not alone. At least with them, she knew that there was no risk of them talking her out of her concern for Sora. They had way too much of their own to even be bothered by her in the first place.

Yuffie and Leon started walking to meet them halfway, perfectly in sync. Yuffie was limping on her ankle, favoring her good side, and she felt Leon's stare flicker over to her at least five times in the short walk they had. She did her best to ignore him, and set him far out of her mind. It was easier when Goofy piped up, once they were only a couple yards apart. "We thought that we'd come and say goodbye!" Yuffie's smile vanished, at the call. Her shoulders went slacker, and her eyes rounded just a little. Something in her heart was already constricting, when she realized that there was a certain finality to each of their gazes.

At her look, Donald took the lead in explaining. "We're going to spread out the search." Unlike Goofy, who seemed a bit unsure still, both in expression and in voice, Donald was more than confident. That was usually the way it was, though. "Merlin agreed it would be best if we looked in some of the other worlds. Maybe then we would make better progress. Sora could other than here." Normally, this probably would have been followed up by some sarcastic comment, or an inconvenienced grumble. But this was all he offered. He was unusually solemn and grave these days— the both of them were. She didn't know if the fact was accentuated because Sora wasn't with them. But Yuffie's heart tore at the fact, and at the looks they were both sharing, so unlike them.

"Oh." Her was voice was soft, and though she was wanting to say more, if only to feel more involved, she couldn't get anything else out. She glanced at Leon, and wondered whether or not he knew about this. Wondered whether or not he had been the one to suggest it in the first place, considering he had been trying to convince her of the very same thing not five minutes ago. But his face was impassive as he just stared thoughtfully at the two. She figured it wasn't important anyway; who cared? As long as they stayed back and kept looking for Sora  _here…_ it might not be a bad thing, regardless. She turned back to them, and gave a tiny nod. "That sounds like a good idea, actually." She didn't mistake Leon's glance in her direction, again. "It'll help spread the news that we're looking, too. You can get other people to start searching."

The two looked marginally lighter than they had before, when she agreed and suggested this. She tried to comfort herself, and reassure herself like they were doing. She tried to sway herself into actually agreeing with them all. She guessed…it wasn't  _unfounded_  to think Sora had left to find his friends. Maybe it was a split-second decision, and he just hadn't been thinking, like Leon said. He'd always been worried for their sakes, and Yuffie could see way— now that she had lost a friend herself, her nerves were shot in the face of what could be happening to him. And his friends had been missing now for  _ages._ Heck, one of the first things Sora had done upon meeting Yuffie was call her the wrong name on accident, using instead the name of that girl he'd known, in his pain-induced haze. Maybe desperation just got the better of him.

Maybe.

"We'll be back before you know it!" Donald assured her, taking the girl's pause as worry for their sake. She jumped a little, and hesitated. But decided not to get into it and actually voice what her concerns were for. She just put a smile on her face and nodded, and it seemed to do the trick. "We'll bring Sora back by his ear, and make him apologize to everyone!" This actually earned cracks of genuine smiles from the other two. And at least they were going together.  _They_ were sticking together, if nothing else. Though she found, looking at them, that her heart ached with the knowledge Sora was not standing beside them and grinning just as wide, being just as reassuring. His absence in the trio was like a glaring neon sign.

"Right!" Goofy agreed, sounding eager to depart. "We'll bring him straight back here, once we track him down! You just tell Merlin we'll be back in a jiffy!" He sounded so confident. Guiltily, she wondered how much of that confidence was true, or whether he was faking it in the hopes that some of it might actually become earnest, in time, like she was. So far their efforts  _here_ were in vain. She hoped nothing more than for them to have better luck elsewhere. This was clear on her face when she just nodded once. Leon murmured a soft wish for luck. The two seemed satisfied with this as a final parting, because they turned and started back the way they had come.

Yuffie watched them go, her heart in her throat. There was a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach, as they did. She felt like she should flag them back. Not let them go. Maybe it was just fear— an irritational, childish fear that if they left, they might not come back, just like Sora hadn't, and they would never see any of them again. Or maybe it was for a more selfish reason— that she wanted to go with them, and tear apart every other world she could, just like she had been tearing apart this one. They wouldn't get any posts, or updates, this way. Was she just supposed to sit around and hope they would come back soon?

"Wait!" Yuffie yelled suddenly.

Immediately, they stopped and turned. They just stared at her in puzzlement, that only grew when she just stared right back at them. For a while, she grappled with herself, choking on air as she realized she hadn't actually known what she was wanting to say. But she tore it eventually, and just withdrew again, with a weaker smile. They had a rule: no meddling in other worlds. That would probably include her coming along with them. They would most likely just say no, if she were to actually ask if she could come along. So she swallowed everything back, and just clasped her hands in front of her instead. "Tell Sora…that we said 'hi'…when you find him," she requested. "And…keep us posted. Please."

Sure enough, they both smiled. "Sure thing!" Goofy laughed assured, and she found that with the laughter hidden under his words, her smile got a bit more genuine. "As soon as we find him, we'll tell him!" She nodded again, and said nothing else. Trying to tell herself that she could be satisfied with this. But when the two turned and started away again, her smile began to fall. By this time they disappeared, her frown was coming back to weigh over her.

She studied the ground again as she shifted her weight a little and grimaced from the pain in her ankle. Again, there was a desire to sit down. There was a heavy pause for quite a long time. She and Leon just stood in uncomfortable, sorrowful quiet, before she had enough and decided to break it. "I think I'm going to do one more sweep," she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck a little wearily. In the course of this day alone, she had probably combed the entirety of Hollow Bastian at least three times. Might as well cap it off with a fourth. At least this one would be her last one. She was  _more_  than bone-tired; she felt like she could sleep for about two years.

To her surprise, Leon wasn't immediately snapping at her not to wear herself out. He didn't even sound irritated. His voice was just quite, and calculating, when he returned: "I figured that would have asked to go along with them." There wasn't any accusation or mockery in his voice when he said this, or even anger over being his concerns being so blatantly ignored; it was just a fact.

"Am I really that easy to read?" She'd said this lightly, as if she was trying to make a joke. Leon smiled, but it didn't really reach his eyes, so it looked more pathetic than anything else. She smiled too, but she was fairly sure hers was just as unimpressive. She offered a small shrug. "They wouldn't have let me come even if I did ask," she sighed. "It would have been pointless. Besides…" She took in a slow breath, and let it out just as gradually. "Sora needs people looking for him  _here,_ too."

Leon paused, his expression going heavy. But then he relented, and gave a small nod. There was a few beats of silence jammed between them. Neither seemed all that sure how to proceed from here. Eventually, he cleared his throat and inclined his head over towards the direction she had already been walking. "Go ahead— do one more." Even though she knew she didn't need his permission, she was at least a little relieved he was offering it now. It meant he wouldn't snap at her anymore, at least. "But  _please…_ for everyone else's sake at the very least— once you're done, just rest for a little bit. You don't have to work yourself to the bone. Taking a break won't kill you."

She thought about staying stubborn, but even she knew it would be stupid of her to. He was just worried; for once, concern was all over his face. Leon  _never_ admitted he had emotions; this was a new level for him. So she just nodded and smiled again, finally conceding and noticing Leon relax when she did. "I guess. Sleep might do me some good, anyway. Just…one more sweep." She said this, and her eyes were already combing around their immediate surroundings carefully. As if Sora could be hidden under a rock that was five feet away and this entire time she hadn't noticed because she had been too preoccupied. Leon registered all of this. The concern and sorrow on her face was bringing pain to his own.

Yuffie started to turn and just go back to what she was doing; she tended to prefer looking for him alone. She didn't need the company; it was distracting. However, at the last second, she hesitated. She bit down on her lower lip and rubbed her arms as if she was suddenly cold. Her gray eyes were dark when she looked at her friend. "He's probably in another world…right? He's probably…just fine. Off looking for his friends and just…not knowing how worried and worked-up he left his other ones." Again, she tried to make her voice light, and again, it didn't land. She shook her head, looking away from Leon because she couldn't stomach the look that was on his face. "…I don't have anything to worry about," she whispered softly to herself.

Leon studied the girl with a deep frown. The guilt that was on her face now that she was distracted was palpable. He had noticed it before; it was impossible not to. When she thought nobody was looking, that guilt – horrible, million-pound guilt – was pressing down on her shoulders and tearing her eyes. He wasn't sure what to tell her. He'd tried plenty of things. Reassuring, sympathizing, rationalizing, what else was there? It was only getting worse with every passing day. Now, suddenly, staring at her, he felt his own guilt sink its claws into his heart. When he spoke, his voice was harder, simply because he was worried what it would come out sounding like if he didn't put in the extra effort. "Yuffie."

She was reluctant. But she turned back to him all the same. He could see the tears in her eyes.

He hesitated only a couple more seconds, agonizing over whether or not this was the right thing to say. Whether or not it was too forward, or direct, or whether it crossed a line. Whether or not it was true. But he found, looking at her, that it had to be. That it was the best explanation for her tireless searching, for her terrible sorrow. And his voice came out softer when he offered: "You know that you didn't leave him, right?" She tensed, flaring up defensively as she opened her mouth. He rushed on before she could say anything. "Or at least you weren't the only one. You might have left Sora to go help Aerith, but when I saw the two of you facing against that Organization member…Yuffie, I left him too." There was tiniest, barely-there hitch in his voice when he said this. Her face fell. She turned to face him more and he choked back a swallow, shaking his head. " _I_  left him too," he repeated. "And  _I_ …was the one that he tried to call out for. And I was the one who didn't get back there fast enough to help him."

Every word was hollow. It rang with all the self-blame and disappointment he had been trying to bottle back. In the face of it, Yuffie didn't know what to say. She just stared at him sorrowfully, barely even breathing. Her eyes filled with even more tears. If Leon didn't know any better, he would have thought that her lower lip trembled just the tiniest bit. It wasn't right— them this way. Yuffie was always confident and bright, he was always stoic and steady. Now, Yuffie was on the brink of tears, and a lifetime's worth of regret and shame was on his face as he stared right back at her. They were like two entirely different people.

He remembered Sora's scream. How pained and terrible and scared it had been. He knew Yuffie was remembering the same exact thing, in such as much detail. Along with the memory, they were apparently sharing the guilt. She said absolutely nothing, just staring at him. Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides. His eyes left her, to flicker out towards the gully that the Heartless had swarmed. Towards the cliffs that he had left Sora on without a second thought, because he'd figured the kid would be okay…like he always was. Now, he was kicking himself. Just as much as Yuffie was.

He could have  _been_ there. He could have  _helped._ If something had happened to him, Leon could have  _protected_ him.

"You weren't the only one," he rasped, staring out despondently over the gully. "If anything happened to him, it'll be my fault too."


End file.
